Konst Offentlighet Motstånd Om konst som motstånd i den urbana offentligheten - En fallstudie av konstprojektet (O)önskad samhällsförbättring

Abstract

This thesis is a cultural theoretical case study of the art project (O)önskad samhällsförbättring. Via an analysis of the project, that is based on theories of power, resistance and contemporary urban development, it examines the construction of urban space, its impact on public art including the ability of art to initiate evolvement of the urban public space. The last decades art has plaid an important role in what is called the creative city; to become attractive nodal points of the global economy, larger cities increasingly invest in art, culture and creative industry. Simultaneously the urban public space is limited to activities and expressions of art that are presumed to create economic growth. This introduces an impression of what is allowed and what is not allowed, possible and not possible, wished and not wished which, as a consequence, evolves the public space. The events during the art project and the reactions that followed enlightened these limitations. This tells a story, not only about the structuring process of the local urban space, but also important changes that are created as a simultaneous effect at different levels in society, as well locally as globally. The study shows that the appreciation of art as urban resistance therefore also has a considerable impact of the critical art as a project forming the society. This means that the urban public space can be understood as a possibility and a limitation at the same time. An assumed driving force in the thesis is that the public space must be understood as a social effect and that a democatic urban space requires the possibility of dissolution and reformation.