ABSTRACT
Nowadays, contemporary art is increasingly involved in the field of urban attractiveness and, in general, in global competition among creative cities. In the past forty years, museums have been increasingly identified as a tool for regional marketing, as a catalyst for urban attractiveness, and as of key importance in giving a new image to the urban environment. Contemporary art and museums, as artifacts and buildings, exceed their cultural value. Numerous critical studies have been made on museums' institution by architects, architectural historians, urban planners, art historians, museum curators, and sociologists. The renewed interest of private companies in contemporary art brings us back to the initial considerations on museums and arts. On the one hand, private companies drive the contemporary art system by promoting works and artists of a certain cultural interest; on the other, they seem to pursue extra-artistic goals by associating their brand's image with the most vibrant international researches in art and architecture.
