Positions in the political economy of public art

The project adopts public art as a lens to study “actually existing democracy”, local and complex situations that indicate the premises for attaining the goals of Gestaltad livsmiljö.

The approach is based on the conviction that public art has a unique capacity activate, problematize and represent issues that are foundational for society.

Through case studies of regulated/commissioned and self-organized artistic practices, the project initiates a mapping of the background conditions of public art. The project is organized as a film production.

The film, which is the principal outcome of the project, combines empirical data, documentary and fictional material into an artistic oeuvre.

It’s intended to provide a platform for the dissemination of knowledge and to encourage discussion with the potential of transforming the field of investigation.

The project is centered on the production of public art, focusing on expectations, demands, contradictions and clashes of interest that are implicit in complex processes of cultural and societal transformation.

The aim is to contribute to the methodological development of public art, and to provide new knowledge on the premises for the production of aesthetic values and qualities in public space.

Organized as a collaboration between researchers, artists and process leaders, the project is a multidisciplinary investigation with a solid knowledge basis in art, architecture, urban planning, regional development and political ecology.