Kortbek - Contradictions in Participatory Public Art
Kortbek, H.B. (2019) Contradictions in Participatory Public Art: Placemaking as an Instrument of Urban Cultural Policy. The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 49 (1): 30-44.
This article addresses the current focus within urban cultural policy on using art as a tool in urban development. Based on theories of participation, democracy, and public art, the article sets out to investigate critically the concept of placemaking. The discussion is based on an analysis of the public art project Placemaking, which took place during 2015 in eight municipalities around Copenhagen in Denmark. The author argues that, when used as a tool in urban development, participatory public art engenders contradictory encounters. These encounters challenge the cultural political effort to democratize art and culture.
Hjørdis Brandrup Kortbek “Contradictions in Participatory Public Art: Placemaking as an Instrument of Urban Cultural Policy”