An Examination of the Role of Mural Art in Community Identity Construction in Port Harcourt, Rivers State

Public mural art has increasingly been deployed as a tool for community identity affirmation, neighbourhood revitalisation, and historical narration in Nigerian urban environments, and its specific social functions in Port Harcourt deserve critical examination. This study examined the role of mural art in constructing community identity in selected neighbourhoods of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, South South Nigeria. A qualitative case study design was adopted, focusing on murals in Rumuola, D-Line, and Diobu districts. Data collection combined semiotic analysis of 22 murals, semi-structured interviews with eight mural artists and 30 community residents, and observational documentation of public interaction with murals. Semiotic analysis applied Barthesian denotation and connotation frameworks to identify visual symbols representing Niger Delta ecology, Kalabari cultural heritage, oil industry critique, and Pan-African identity. Community interviews revealed that 73.3 percent of residents felt murals positively contributed to neighbourhood pride, while 60 percent identified specific murals as landmarks for spatial orientation. Artists described their work as both aesthetic contribution and political statement, particularly regarding environmental justice for oil-producing communities. Tensions between commissioned corporate murals and community-initiated activist murals were identified as a recurring challenge. The study concludes that murals in Port Harcourt function as contested visual public statements that simultaneously beautify spaces and articulate community grievances. Recommendations include community participation frameworks for mural commissioning, public art policy development, and documentation initiatives supported by the Rivers State Arts Council.

Keywords: mural art, community identity, public art, Port Harcourt, visual semiotics