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Αrt in Public Space Vienna
As a cosmopolitan cultural metropolis Vienna has gained a particularly strong position in the visual arts. Thanks to a number of different initiatives there has been a decisive shift of focus in this area in recent decades. Traditionally known as a city of theatre and music, Vienna has developed a modern identity as a hub for internationally acclaimed contemporary art exhibitions in changing venues, for innovative exhibition formats and as a platform for discussions on topical art issues.
The interest in the various manifestations of contemporary art, the cultural revival of urban space and Vienna’s appeal have not just been backed by the activities of art institutions and other private exhibition venues, but also by the artistic measures and interventions in public space promoted by the City of Vienna as part of its cultural policy.
Today, art projects in the public space play an important role in contemporary art and its reception. In the everyday life of the city they sometimes the public in an unexpected way which is defined by the dynamic of urban space. Such art projects are often intended to respond to and reflect urban and social situations or interventions in an urban context and trigger off communicational processes, giving passers-by and local residents the chance to interact with contemporary art outside of museums, art centers or galleries.
In view of the importance of public art, the necessary preconditions for a special fund for art in public space were created in 2003. As part of a joint initiative, the Executive City Councillors Dr. Andreas Mailath-Pokorny (Cultural Affairs and Science), Werner Faymann (Housing, Housing Construction and Urban Renewal) and Rudolf Schicker (Urban Development, Traffic and Transport) established a platform for the discussion and realization of “Art in Public Space”.
This newly created Vienna fund sees itself as an open platform. Its goal is to continuously call into question the potential but also the limitations of public art. What is to be seen as “public art” and which public creates it?
Endowed with a fixed minimum budget the fund has been able to initiate discourses and art projects in the urban space. A number of “art in architecture” projects have been launched an area that has historically been one of Vienna’s particular cultural strengths). At the beginning of the 21st century urban space as a social context is also increasingly viewed as a field of social and cultural exchange.
The new board for art in public space in Vienna proceeds from a relational understanding of art. Against the backdrop of a very diverse art scene marked by different methods and systems of reference, a pluralistic outlook is necessary to take account of the many different art movements.
Contemporary art pursues very different strategies that either relate to an expanded notion of sculpture as temporary intervention, or opt for entirely new, situation-specific, participatory or even playful approaches. The basic requirement is that art projects based on this pluralistic understanding of art are modelled on critical practice, since art projects in public space must also serve as points of orientation for contemporary standards.
In keeping with the specific characteristics of an art scene consisting of different thematic networks, the board for art in public space intends to invite artists, groups or curators to engage in a dialogue. There are also plans for joint projects with journals and audiovisual media and the creation of a website (expansion of wien.at).
Since the aim is to initiate projects with a lasting effect, in the early stages in particular it will be necessary to focus on thematic and topographic aspects. For this reason the jury will not just limit its initiatives to the project proposals submitted but also intends to define concrete tasks and elaborate thematic frameworks for competitions relating to different projects. On the basis of limited or open competitions, specific issues are to be elucidated which relate to formal coordinates as well as architectural givens and social conditions. |
