ABSTRACT
Public art is produced and ‘lived’ within multiple, interlaced and contested political, economic, social and cultural-symbolic spheres. This lively collection is a mix of academic and practice-based writings that scrutinise conventional claims on the inclusiveness of public art practice. Contributions examine how various social differences, across class, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, ability and literacy, shape encounters with public art within the ambits of the design, regeneration and everyday experiences of public spaces. The chapters richly draw on case studies from the Global North and South, providing comprehensive insights into the experiences of encountering public art via a variety of scales and realms.
This book advances critical insights of how socially practised public arts articulate and cultivate geographies of social difference through the themes of power (the politics of encountering), affect (the embodied ways of encountering), and diversity (the inclusiveness of encountering). It will appeal to scholars, students and practitioners of cultural geography, the visual arts, urban studies, political studies and anthropology.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |12 pages
Introduction
part I|75 pages
Power
chapter 3|16 pages
‘Awaken the Dragon’
chapter 4|19 pages
The construction of post-communist ideologies and re-branding of Budapest
chapter 5|18 pages
Sustainable influences of public art
part II|50 pages
Affect
chapter 6|17 pages
Shaping subjects, connecting communities, imagining futures?
chapter 7|17 pages
The production of temporary public space
chapter 8|14 pages
‘All your drains belong to us’
part III|78 pages
Diversity
chapter 9|20 pages
Mobilising the ‘Right to Remain’ in Vancouver’s Paueru-gai
chapter 10|19 pages
The art of (re)crossing the border
chapter 11|18 pages
The Birmingham Surrealist Laboratory
part |7 pages
Afterword