Do you know your neighbours? Anything that increases interaction opportunities with neighbours, or strangers, I figure is a good thing. Public art is such a thing.
From silos to interactions
Even in dense urban places, our life can feel like a silo. Yet, once we get past our inward-looking tendencies, and open up to interactions with neighbours, we often discover we share common interests. And, before we know it, we’re heading down the same path, together, towards vibrant forms of neighbourhood living.
Oak Bay municipality is a stone’s throw from where I reside. A local collaboration, involving the municipality, arts community, and business supporters, resulted in the installation of a half dozen public art works, for the summer. They include 3 painted pianos, and 3 other works. I thought they deserved sharing; hence my photos of them, in this post. Read more about the project, here.
The benefits of Public art
Public art can arouse our curiosity and thinking; make strangers talk, children ask questions, calm us, rejuvenate us…
Bullrushes!
It can transform the places where we live, work, and play into more welcoming and beautiful environments that invite interaction; hanging out, making connections, having conversations, and cultural exchanges. Good public places + public art can give us a feeling of safety, says Steve Woolrich (@SeCuRes), an expert in crime prevention, through environmental design.
Public spaces can also be a place where artists create their work, interface with other citizens, and/or citizens co-participate in the creation process.
Bottom line is that public art has the power to energize our public spaces; small and big.
More (public art), please!
“It is difficult to design a space that will not attract people; what is remarkable is how often this has been accomplished.” (William H. (Holly) Whyte). Enough is enough.
“By placing artwork in our everyday environment, the Public Art Program sparks community participation in the building of our public spaces; offers public access to ideas generated by contemporary art; encourages citizens to take pride in public cultural expression; and creates a forum to address relevant themes and issues.” (Richmond, BC Public Art Program) It brings energy to public spaces.
Got a story to tell on how public art transformed your neighbourhood? Do tell here, or tweet a link and let me know (@benziegler), and I’ll pass it on.
Fascinating ways to spur comfortable ways for people to engage, especially outdoors Ben. Thanks… i wrote about that power of public “sculpture” and settings that move us to play too
http://www.movingfrommetowe.com/2008/05/09/public-“sculpture”-that-move-us-to-play-or-cry/
Thanks Kare. Nice post you did around the Chicago examples. Diverse and fascinating, too, and definitely on a grander scale. It would be a stretch to think of much of the Oak Bay public art as a tourist magnet. It all feels low-key; almost incidental.