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.

Public art is on the urban agenda. Given recent claims about the importance of creativity to urban prosperity, opportunities for installing or performing art in the city have multiplied. As cities strive to appear culturally dynamic, the stakes of artistic production rise higher than ever. Exploring the interaction between art and the public in Canadian cities, Urban Encounters features writing by artists, architects, curators, anthropologists, geographers, and urban studies specialists. They show how people and places affect the structure and content of public artworks, what kinds of urban spaces and socialities are generated through art, and how to investigate and interpret encounters between art and its viewers in the city. Discussing a variety of art forms, including mobile cinemas, street improvisation, audiovisual investigations, and assembled objects, the contributors treat public artworks not just as aesthetic installations, but as agents that participate in the social and cultural evolution of cities. Using original, hands-on approaches, Urban Encounters reveals how art in the urban public space generates encounters that can transform both the city itself and the ways that people relate to it. Contributors include Alison Bain (York University), Robert Bean (NSCAD University), Lawrence Bird (architect, artist), Alexandrine Boudreault-Fournier (University of Victoria), Brenden Harvey (Dalhousie University), Wes Johnston (artist, curator), Léola Le Blanc (media artist), Brian Lilley (Dalhousie University), Barbara Lounder (NSCAD University), Mary Elizabeth Luka (York University), Sebastian Matthias (HafenCityUniversity), Christof Migone (Western University), Ellen Moffat (media artist), Kim Morgan (NSCAD University), Solomon Nagler (NSCAD University), Martha Radice (Dalhousie University), Nicole Rallis (McMaster University), Susanne Shawyer (Elon University), Shannon Turner (Aarhus University), Laurent Vernet (INRS Urbanisation Culture Société), and Nick Wees (University of Victoria).

"In this wonderfully bold and speculative anthology of writings, artists and critics offer a highly persuasive set of argument and pleas for imaginative, socially responsible, and socially responsive public art.... "--Amazon.

Public art is on the urban agenda. Given recent claims about the importance of creativity to urban prosperity, opportunities for installing or performing art in the city have multiplied. As cities strive to appear culturally dynamic, the stakes of artistic production rise higher than ever. Exploring the interaction between art and the public in Canadian cities, Urban Encounters features writing by artists, architects, curators, anthropologists, geographers, and urban studies specialists. They show how people and places affect the structure and content of public artworks, what kinds of urban spaces and socialities are generated through art, and how to investigate and interpret encounters between art and its viewers in the city. Discussing a variety of art forms, including mobile cinemas, street improvisation, audiovisual investigations, and assembled objects, the contributors treat public artworks not just as aesthetic installations, but as agents that participate in the social and cultural evolution of cities. Using original, hands-on approaches, Urban Encounters reveals how art in the urban public space generates encounters that can transform both the city itself and the ways that people relate to it. Contributors include Alison Bain (York University), Robert Bean (NSCAD University), Lawrence Bird (architect, artist), Alexandrine Boudreault-Fournier (University of Victoria), Brenden Harvey (Dalhousie University), Wes Johnston (artist, curator), Léola Le Blanc (media artist), Brian Lilley (Dalhousie University), Barbara Lounder (NSCAD University), Mary Elizabeth Luka (York University), Sebastian Matthias (HafenCityUniversity), Christof Migone (Western University), Ellen Moffat (media artist), Kim Morgan (NSCAD University), Solomon Nagler (NSCAD University), Martha Radice (Dalhousie University), Nicole Rallis (McMaster University), Susanne Shawyer (Elon University), Shannon Turner (Aarhus University), Laurent Vernet (INRS Urbanisation Culture Société), and Nick Wees (University of Victoria).

This exciting new collection of essays by practicing artists, curators, activists, art writers, administrators, city planners, and educators offers divergent perspectives on the numerous facets of the public art process. The volume also includes a useful graphic timeline of public art history.

"Public art is a manifestation of how we see the world-the artist's reflection of our social, cultural, and physical environment." Thus, Penny Bach introduces this fascinating history of public art in Philadelphia, narrated throughout with surprising anecdotes, biographical sketches, and more than 450 illustrations. She explores the artistic, historical, political, and social trends and events that caused the city to acquire such a rich and diverse collection of public art. Philadelphia's tradition of public art reveals the origins of our cyclic longing for public expression: the spiritual roots of Native American culture, the utilitarian needs of the colonial period, the civic glorification of American patriotism, the planning instincts that emerged from the industrial era, and the pursuit of originality and invention in the twentieth century. Guiding the reader through a chronological tour of the city's aesthetic holdings, Public Art in Philadelphia provides a sort of history of American monumental art in microcosm and offers a way to appreciate the public art we encounter, whether it is cast, carved, built, assembled, or painted.As the nation's first capital, Philadelphia began early to commemorate heroics figures, popular leaders, patriotic ideals, and historic events. From Lazzarini's marble figure of Benjamin Franklin to Pinto's Fingerspan in Fairmount Park, form Laurel Hill Cemetery's celebrated sculpture garden to Lipchitz's controversial Government of the People, and from William Penn atop City Hall to the colorful murals by the Anti-Graffiti Network, public art has continued to enhance, define, and challenge Philadelphians' perception of their city.With perhaps the largest collection of public sculpture in the world, Philadelphia's art acquisitions span the history of the United States. Bach examines the gradual transformation over three centuries of style, theme, and reception of statues, murals, and other art forms. Shorter thematic essays make "connections" between works, ideas, artists, and civic missions. A catalogue focuses on more than 200 individual works, noting the materials, dimensions, location history, and commissioning process, and suggesting the vast range of public art. The armchair tourist, for example, can visit Dickens and Little Nell in Clark Park, the John Wanamaker's Eagle, the All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors in Fairmount Park, or the Julius Erving Memorial on Ridge Avenue, among many others. A set of maps encourage readers to view the works in their public context.Public Art in Philadelphia offers a unique tour of both the familiar and the overlooked treasures that give meaning to the public environment, that reconnect art to daily life, and that remind Philadelphia's visitors and residents of what was considered important to previous generations. Author note: Penny Balkin Bach is Executive Director of the Fairmount Park Art Association, the nation's first non-profit organization dedicated to the integration of art and urban planning. She is also the author of Form and Function: Proposals for Public Art for Philadelphia.

This collection of original essays takes a multi-disciplinary approach to explore the theme of failure through the broad spectrum of public art and social practice. The anthology brings together practicing artists, curators, activists, art writers, administrators, planners, and educators from around the world to offer differing perspectives on the many facets of failure in commissioning, planning, producing, evaluating, and engaging communities in the continually evolving field of art in the public realm. As such, this book offers a survey of currently unexplored and interconnected thinking, and provides a much-needed critical voice to the commissioning of public and participatory arts. The volume includes case studies from the UK, the US, China, Cuba, and Denmark, as well as discussions of digital public art collections. The Failures of Public Art and Participation will be of interest for students and scholars of visual arts, design and architecture interested in how art in the public realm fits within social and political contexts.