Martin Zebracki

This article reviews gender mainstreaming in practices of urban governance in Europe by comparing Sweden and Italy, which have distinct welfare-state systems: that of the former is firmly embedded in institutional and social structures, whereas that of the latter is markedly more familistic. This review illustrates this relatively strong contrast case on the basis of a literature and policy analysis, and elaborates how the everyday policies of urban governance regarding the living environment are considerably more gender-sensitive in Sweden than is the case in Italy. The main explanation for this difference lies in Sweden’s political socialism and longer socio-democratic tradition of incremental and equity-planning approaches in urban governance, in contrast to Italy’s social tradition of rather more conservative corporatism and patriarchal commune tactics. Socio-political and formal-institutional barriers, which are impeding both the top-down and the bottom-up implementation of gender-sensitive initiatives, could be overcome by creating more mental and formal legislative room for urban-based gender mainstreaming. Such room would challenge prevailing patriarchal societal structures and policy narratives.

I feel the urge to reflect on the dramatic actions against the citizenship rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBTs—an inclusive formulation that also includes sexually questioning and intersex populations) in the Russian Federation in the build-up to the Winter Olympics to be held in Sochi in February 2014. The ideas put forth here are meant to contribute to debates that seek to critically engage with queer liberalism and homonationalism (see Puar 2007; Eng 2010). This intervention is thus not positing that Russia’s LGBT struggles are backward and ‘unenlightened’ queer but, rather, mapping out and locating how the decision to monitor and criminalize queer identities in Russia provides a way to think about how we understand the ethics of sexual citizenship and belonging across time and space. Most obviously I ask: how is the Russian anti-LGBT crackdown both upholding and providing a context for us to challenge queer liberalism and homonationalism?

Since the upsurge of public art in the 1980s, geographers have been critically analysing creative practices as drivers of urban development and regeneration. They have commonly framed perceptions of art in urban public space from the perspectives of its producers and planners. Yet, the fundamental purpose of public art is shaped by its publics, which comprise a multifaceted audience. Some scholars have held a brief for examining perceptions of public art through its publics, but let things go at that. This paper attempts to address this under-researched yet important field by presenting a survey of publics’ perceptions of selected public-artwork localities in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Ghent. The publics’ perceptions were generally expressed in platitudes that were neither unreservedly positive nor unreservedly negative. But the distinct localities do show significant differences in publics’ perceived attractiveness of the public-artwork locality. These perceptions are further situated within publics’ cognitive, spatial, aesthetic, social and symbolic proximity to both the public artwork and its site. These empirical details provide insight into publics’ engagement with public art in particular places and thereby provide lessons for public-art-led urban planning. Moreover, this study instigates more solid qualitative research on this specific engagement.

Urban regeneration in Dutch cities is increasingly accompanied by the cultural sector in general and by artists in particular. This paper presents comparative case studies on current artists-accompanied urban regeneration initiated by housing corporations in Utrecht and Rotterdam. On the basis of discourse analysis on the voices of decisive actors, it explores the rationale behind artists-accompanied urban regeneration and the sociospatial implications thereof. It empirically indicates that housing corporations are more inclined to deploy artists in urban regeneration when there are sufficient vacant buildings. It also illustrates that more decentralised housing corporations have a stronger and more long-term commitment to urban regeneration. The latter includes a greater commitment to interventions by artists within urban public space.

This paper focuses on particularities of indwellers' perceptions of public art and its locale by drawing on the epistemology of ‘situated knowledges’ (Haraway 1991, Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Women. New York: Routledge) and the notion of ‘geographies of engagement’ (Zebracki, Van Der Vaart and Van Aalst 2010, Geoforum 41(5): 786–795). We employ the case of Paul McCarthy's internationally acclaimed public artwork Santa Claus in Rotterdam to illustrate the sundry outlooks on its spatialities, aesthetics and moralities, and its functionalities in relation to place. Santa Claus's alleged sexual nature is highly disputed among local politicians and the local population. This dispute is narratively covered by media sources and inscribed by its popular renaming as the ‘Butt Plug Gnome’. We empirically situate documented media views within the way indwellers perceive Santa Claus and its experienced locale in interrelation with themselves. We try to open up differential vistas on public-art narration in relation to people, time and space, whereby we elaborate on the reflexive idea of ‘social relationality’ (Massey and Rose 2003, Personal Views: Public Art Research Project. Milton Keynes: The Open University) by revealing how socio-spatial differences in public-art narration are negotiated. As such, we examine how public art is geographically reconstituted through the publics, namely those for whom public art is essentially intended yet who have been neglected actors of analysis in public-art research.

Cet article examine comment les habitants d'une ville perçoivent l'art public et son milieu à la base épistémologique de la « connaissance située » (Haraway 1991, Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Women. New York: Routledge) ainsi que le concept des « géographies d'interaction » (Zebracki, Van Der Vaart et Van Aalst 2010, Geoforum 41(5): 786–795). Nous retenons le cas de l'œuvre public acclamé à l'internationale « Père Noël » de Paul McCarthy à Rotterdam pour illustrer les diverses conceptions prêtées à sa spatialité, son esthétique et sa moralité et ses fonctionnalités par rapport au lieu. La qualité sexualisée présumée de l'œuvre se voit disputée par les fonctionnaires de la ville et la population locale. Les médias font des reportages sur ce conflit de signification en même temps que le discours populaire surnomme l'œuvre « Gnome-Plug ». Nous retrouvons ces représentations médiatiques dans les perceptions des habitants de « Père Noël » ainsi que dans la façon des habitants d'éprouver son milieu. Nous tentons ainsi de ouvrir des aperçus sur les qualités narratives de l'art public dans sa relation aux gens, au temps, et à l'espace en élaborant le concept réflexif de la « relationalité (NDT: Ce mot vise à capter le sens du néologisme « relationality » ci-dessus) sociale» (Massey et Rose 2003, Personal Views: Public Art Research Project. Milton Keynes: The Open University) et en révélant la négociation de différence socio-spatiale dans la narration de l'art public. Nous examinons ainsi la façon de l'art public de se faire reconstituer géographiquement à travers le public, et surtout la partie du public à laquelle l'art public est essentiellement destiné mais qui a été pourtant négligée comme acteurs dans l'analyse de la recherche sur l'art public.

Este artículo se enfoque en las particularidades de las percepciones de residentes del arte público y su escenario por llevar de la epistemología de ‘conocimientos situados’ (Haraway 1991, Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Women. New York: Routledge) y la noción de ‘geografías de involucramiento’ (Zebracki, Van Der Vaart y Van Aalst 2010, Geoforum 41(5): 786–795). Utilizamos el caso de la obra pública internacionalmente aclamado Santa Claus de Rotterdam, hecho por Paul McCarthy, para ilustrar las perspectivas diversas de sus espacialidades, estéticos y moralidades, y sus funcionalidades en relación al lugar. La naturaleza sexual afirmado de Santa Claus es muy polémico entre políticos locales y la población local. Esta disputa está discutido por fuentes de comunicación y inscritos por el renombramiento popular de la obra al ‘Gnomo del Dilatador Anal’. Situamos las vistas de los medios de comunicación empíricamente entre la manera en que los residentes perciben al Santa Claus y su escenario en relación a ellos mismos. Intentamos abrir vistas diferentes de la narración del arte público en relación a gente, tiempo y espacio, y así elaboramos del idea reflexivo de ‘relacionalidad social’ (Massey y Rose 2003, Personal Views: Public Art Research Project. Milton Keynes: The Open University) por revelar como las diferencias socio-espaciales están negociados en la narración del arte público. Así examinamos como el arte público está reconstituido geográficamente através del público, particularmente los por cual el arte público está intencionado aún quienes han sido actores de analísis abandonados en las investigaciones del arte público.

Cultural policy has produced divergent intentions underlying the direction of public art since its advent in Western Europe in 1945. Literature has feebly demonstrated the extent to which differentialities in cultural policy have affected the production of public artworks over time and space. This paper fills this gap as regards Amsterdam and Ghent, cities that are situated in different national institutional contexts. It shows dissimilarity—in that one finds a relatively higher number of public artworks, more spatially dispersed and more diversified public artworks in Amsterdam than in Ghent, which is particularly a result of institutional differences—and similarity between these cities, in terms of initiatives by local communities and arts actors, irrespective of the local policy context. These results provide insight into policy concern with public-art production and the everyday practices and cultural traditions that underpin it.

This paper problematises public artopia, in other words the collection of claims in academic literature concerning the allegedly physical-aesthetic, economic, social, and cultural-symbolic roles of art in urban public space. On the basis of interviews with public-art producers (artists, public officials, investors, and participating residents) in a flagship and a community-art project in Amsterdam, we analyse the situatedness of their public-art claims according to actors’ roles, geographical context, and time. The research suggests that public-art theory and policy suffer from three deficiencies. Theoretical claims about public-art and policy discourse feature, first, a failure to recognise different actors’ perspectives: claims fail to locate situated knowledges that are intrinsically (re)constituted by actors’ roles articulating with one another in time and space. Second is the lack of geographical contextuality: claims do not elaborate appropriately on distinct discourses about art projects’ spatial settings. Third is the lack of temporal perspective. Claims neglect the practice of public-art realisation: that is, the evolution of claims and claim coalitions over the time horizon of the art projects: preparation, implementation, and evaluation.

This book provides further insight into the interrelationships between artwork, public space and beholder. Public art has been a burgeoning phenomenon across cities in the Western world since the late 1940s. Various axioms have been produced about what public art ‘does’ to people in certain places and times. These axioms mainly originate from those who produce public artworks and those who are involved in public art’s enabling institutional and cultural policy contexts. Until now, public art has hardly been problematised from a geographical perspective. On top of that, little is known about the relationships between art and public space through particularly the perspectives of public art’s publics. This work explicitly includes both a geographical perspective and publics’ experiences of public art.

Kunstwerken op onze weg door de stad hebben de potentie om de manier waarop we de stedelijke openbare ruimte beleven sterk te beïnvloeden. Vaak blijken intenties bij het creëren van kunst in de openbare ruimte echter mank te gaan aan de ervaringen van het publiek, oftewel de ‘consument’.

Stedelijke vernieuwing legt steeds meer nadruk op bewonersparticipatie. Gemeenschapskunst is daarbij een populair instrument – zo ook in de achterstandswijk Bospolder-Tussendijken in de Rotterdamse deelgemeente Delfshaven. Vinden de betrokkenen, en vooral bewoners, het ook een succes?

Rotondekunstwerken dienen vaak als stedelijk visitekaartje. Een van de meest opzienbarende rotondekunstwerken in Nederland, of zelfs in de wereld, is het Draaiend Huis op de Tilburgse Hasseltrotonde. De plaatsing van dit kunstwerk ontlokte een brede discussie over de sociaal-ruimtelijke meerwaarde van kunst in de openbare ruimte. Er is daarom onderzocht welke beleidsdoelen achter het Draaiend Huis schuilen en hoe deze zich verhouden tot de beleving van het publiek. Vooral dat publiek krijgt tot dusver niet de nodige aandacht.

AGORA sprak met de gevestigde geografen Kath Browne, Phil Hubbard, Liz Dinnie en Marianne Blidon over wat we kunnen leren van seksualiteit in relatie tot ruimtelijk gedrag en beleid. Een belangrijk begrip daarbij is seksueel burgerschap. Wij allemaal verlangen naar recht op ruimte, ongeacht onze seksuele voorkeuren.

Wie dacht dat we na ‘Sex and the City’ en ‘Het Grote Penisboek’ alles zouden weten over seksualiteit, zat blijkbaar toch mis. Seksualiteit is niet slechts een niemendalletje, maar een menselijk fundament met een uiterst complexe dynamiek in de maatschappelijke ruimte. Daarover presenteert dit themanummer van AGORA een serieuze en actuele discussie.

Ter ere van het Tsjechische EU-voorzitterschap in 2009 werd een controversieel kunstwerk geïnstalleerd. ‘Entropa’ bevatte zogenaamd bijdragen van kunstenaars uit alle 27 EU-lidstaten. Entropa’s beladen beeldvorming over Europa bracht de gemoederen heftig in beroering.

De doorgewinterde multidisciplinair geograaf Nigel Thrift neemt in Non-Representational Theory – Space, Politics, Affect (2008) de lezer op een intrigerende reis door ‘de geografie van wat gebeurt’. Dit doet hij aan de hand van een bundeling van acht door hem gepubliceerde artikelen tussen 2001 en 2007, aangevuld met kop en staart (tien hoofdstukken in totaal). Als grondlegger van non-representatieve theorie probeert Thrift aan een breder publiek duidelijk te maken wat een ‘precognitieve benadering’ van methodologie, zijnsleer en kennisleer binnen de sociale wetenschappen inhoudt. Er is volgens hem een nieuw ‘zenuwstelsel’ van beraad nodig, dat de omgeving helder verwoordt. Maar deze helderheid over de ‘precognitieve benadering’ wordt niet duidelijk gemaakt in zijn werk, waardoor er voor de niet-doorgewinterde lezer van Thrift niets anders op zit dan veel tijd te besteden aan het verhelderen van zijn teksten.

Vraag mensen wat kunst is en het merendeel zal een schilderij, een standbeeld of een ander tastbaar object noemen. Dat kunst ook een proces kan zijn, wordt aangetoond door de werkzaamheden van de Nederlandse Stichting Kunst en Openbare Ruimte (SKOR).

Kunstwerken op onze weg door de stad hebben de potentie om de manier waarop we de stedelijke openbare ruimte beleven sterk te beïnvloeden. Vaak blijken intenties bij het creëren van kunst in de openbare ruimte echter mank te gaan aan de ervaringen van het publiek, oftewel de 'consument'.