Public Space Performs Creative Explorations of Performativity in Public Space
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Abstract
This article is an extended contribution from a paper originally presented as part of the 2024 conference Past, Present and Future of Public Space in Bologna, promoted by City Space Architecture, under the same title. The discussion here focuses on an understanding of the public sphere as a “performative arrangement” (Cartiere and Zebracki, 2016), looking at the ways in which art can contribute new insights into this concept, thereby promoting new possibilities in taking ownership of, as well as consciously experiencing the choreographic, sensorial and aesthetic dimension of public space.
Challenging an understanding of public art that relegates this to mere urban decoration and to necessarily entailing permanent artworks in public space, here the emphasis is on public art as interdisciplinary practice, spanning pedagogy, artistic making, curating, programming and academia. Whether through participatory projects, interactive installations and ephemeral interventions, public spaces may be reimagined and their potential reacquainted with.
The article draws on the author’s previous writing on ‘Performing Museography’ (2023) and ‘Critical Theatricality’ (2021), as well as on the pedagogical ethos embedded in the Masters of Public Art and Performative Practices at London Metropolitan University. Examples from practice are utilised to reflect on the principles discussed here and their applicability in a real-life working context.
Distinguishing the concept of performativity from that of performance (Von Hantelman, 2014), this contribution nevertheless sees both within a continuum of experiences, in which the dialogical relationship between public, space and time is creatively reinterpreted through artistic intervention. According to this understanding, artistic practices that deal with the performative dimension of public space may function as ways to champion the latter’s cultural and human value, as well as to address the inherent complexities and challenges related to this.
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