Stadtkuratorin
Leipzig

Public spaces

Public space is where society and democracy can be lived, experienced and learned. It is where people gain access to public goods. Public spaces are not only streets, squares and parks, but all environments – whether analogue or digital, privately or publicly owned – where people can gather, interact and engage in exchange and participation. They include for example schools, universities and other educational institutions, but also sports facilities, art and cultural spaces and the media. In the digital realm, internet-based communication platforms such as social media and websites play an important role as public spaces in society. Public spaces serve diverse purposes, functioning as hubs for transportation, retail, communication, recreation, etc.

© Alexandra Ivanciu

During the event Zukunft Jupiterplatz, the “Utopian Table” was set up in the public space in Grünau Nord, serving coffee and cake to remember the area’s pre-reunification past.

 

The term public space is used not only to describe the built and infrastructural environment, but also the ‘lived’ environment. Public space only becomes spatially tangible through people's behaviour.1 This means that the function and use of public space is a process, and that it is subject to constant change and revision through perception and use. With this in mind, there is no public space without a public. Who creates ‘the’ public, and how, is a matter for constant negotiation: in a public space shared by various groups and sub-groups, differing interests and values may collide.

For artistic and political practices, this means that public space is not just a receptacle or a stage on which something takes place, but a place ‘that is only created when various people, practices and opinions come together – a prerequisite for the urban, which is characterised by diversity and difference’.2 Public space is therefore a space for negation, used on a temporary basis for different purposes. As the urban researcher Manuel Delgado emphasises: ‘Public space is something that is not only organised, managed, rational, planned – it is also spontaneous, unpredictable, in constant motion.’3

Consumption-free spaces

In addition to the functional, social, symbolic and normative dimensions, the term public space is also a legal category, defining whether a space is publicly or privately owned. Since the 1990s, academic discourse has increasingly focused on the economisation of public space and the neoliberalisation of urban policy. This critique refers to the transformation of cities to serve the interests of private companies, with residents and users of urban space being regarded as consumers within a marketplace rather than members of a political community.4

This can easily lead to processes of exclusion where the commercialisation of public space results in the displacement of marginalised and low-income groups. The privatised and economised public sphere of a shopping centre or beer garden is equivalent to democratic public space only in an aesthetic sense. Due to private householders’ rights on the one hand, and the compulsion to consume on the other, such places do not fulfil the requirements of a democratic, social space that is accessible to everyone.

© Christian Doeller

The series “On Singularities and Common Grounds”, organised by the Kunstverein Leipzig, aimed to transform the concept of the public sphere, exploring the possibilities of diverse cultural participation and its importance for sustainable urban development. As part of this initiative, the Cassata Pavilion by Adam Nathaniel Furman was established as a freely accessible meeting place on the lawn of Leipzig’s so-called Sculpture Park.

Against this background, there is currently a growing demand for participation in Leipzig. One of the most important public tasks today is to develop socially sustainable urban infrastructures and living environments, including the design of public spaces. Art in public spaces and art in building projects can be a catalyst for cultural and democratic education. It can also serve as a communication platform, bringing together representatives from city administration and the urban community as well as diverse interest groups, communities, scenes and milieus.

This perspective expands the traditional, representational concept of art in public spaces to embrace process- and participation-oriented formats. Beyond the classic artistic works of various eras – such as sculptures, monuments, and art integrated into architectural projects – public art includes installations, performances, action art, street art, sound art and media art. Many of these forms are created through collaborative processes that actively involve public participation.

Art in public spaces, whether in urban areas or public buildings, encompasses both permanent and temporary works. These artistic endeavours can invite participation from urban communities, initiating processes of design, exploration and dialogue. 

Art in public spaces

In 2002, the art scholar Miwon Kwon proposed a framework for defining public art, identifying three categories:
category 1 “art in public places”,
category 2 “art as public spaces“ and
category 3 “art in the public interest“. 

By categorising public art into three types, Kwon aims to clarify that artistic practice is not limited to merely illustrating public spaces with representative sculptural works (category 1). Instead, through site-specific art, artists can actively contribute to the creation of public spaces and even generate spaces for discussion (category 2). In category 3, Kwon describes how art can be co-determined if artistic processes are relational and audience-oriented.5

© Alexandra Ivanciu

The Neustadt Sculpture Park, founded in 2021 in collaboration with the four art spaces Fonda, Bistro21, Kunsthalle Ost and IDEAL, posed questions relating to the (self-)organisation of public space and the common rituals of urban society. The picture shows the artistic contributions “unterwegs” by Lara Hampe, “Monument 03” by Mathias Weinfurter and “Ornamental Brakedown” by Rafael Jörger. 

Kwon was particularly intent on cautioning against art becoming merely street furniture or decoration, as this could contribute to processes of gentrification, with the upgrading of a particular neighbourhood leading to the displacement of lower-income residents. In Leipzig, gentrification has become a growing concern in recent years, especially in the Gründerzeit neighbourhoods near the city centre. The interplay between gentrification, displacement and cultural processes can be seen in the impact Leipzig's rapid growth has on land use. In recent years, competition for urban land has led to non-commercial cultural and civic initiatives such as urban gardens, playgrounds or newly created green spaces giving way to the rising demand for new housing developments. At the same time, these initiatives have contributed to the enhancement of these areas, increasing their appeal and, consequently, driving up living costs. This, in turn, can result in the population segregation and social stratification of a neighbourhood.

Art as social practice

With the strategy Leipzig // City // Space // Art, the City of Leipzig aspires to a ‘lively and qualified culture of debate (...) on the topics and conflicts that are important to the citizens of the city and that have found, or should find, expression in artistic works.’ Furthermore, ‘debates on fundamental issues of contemporary culture, art production and artistic influence on social development processes (...) are to be promoted.’6

© Alexandra Ivanciu

The performative intervention “Was du auch anpackst, es wird dir gelingen!” (Whatever you attempt, you will succeed!) was conceived by the Leipzig artist Angelika Waniek for the Lößnig Festival 2024. Together with visitors, she used her own card game to explore ideas for future gathering places in Lößnig’s public areas. 

This is mainly because participatory practices are a central part of socially engaged, contemporary art and cultural production. Through artistic processes, members of the urban population can make a significant contribution to urban development by engaging in progressive forms of participation, thereby contributing to the development of sustainable structures. The cultural historian Gesa Ziemer describes how art and cultural education, with its performative and media expertise, can create surprising public spheres as it can ‘stage unusual and diverse forms of assembly’. Initially, through collective actions, individuals who are not otherwise connected can be brought together, creating new forms of interaction and collaboration. In art, ‘you can experiment by addressing publics that perhaps do not even yet exist. (…) Rather than addressing the old ‘public’ that has always existed, the performative art of assembly follows the promise of being able to create new publics on a trial basis through new forms of engagement.’7

At the heart of this process is the social practice of complicity and assembly, through which unexpected connections can be forged among diverse actors around specific topics and needs, potentially resulting in long-term sustainable structures.

According to Peters, both practices, that of the assembly and that of complicity, place emphasis on the level of action. ‘In the case of the assembly, this can mean: a citizens’ assembly can, for example, turn into a citizens’ initiative, a political assembly can become a demonstration, parliamentary assemblies can influence political events, or a parents' meeting can initiate concrete measures within a school. People meet for a specific purpose, whereby the realisation of the idea – in a similar way to complicity – plays a central role.’8

© Tanja Krone/Elisa Ueberschär, Photo: Monika Krajka

The performance “30 Stunden runder Tisch” (30-hour round table) by the artists Tanja Krone and Elisa Ueberschär gave a voice to women who had gone unheard for thirty years. In June 2021, texts from the GDR women's movement of 1989/90 were read aloud in public for 30 hours in Leipzig’s market square. The production was developed in collaboration with the Fourth Leipzig Women's Festival. 

A curatorial programme for public spaces in Leipzig

A programme for art in public spaces in Leipzig should serve as an ongoing moderator, establishing priorities and facilitating dialogue among the various initiatives in urban public spaces. This would ensure that art and cultural education are developed with and on behalf of the residents.

Curatorial work in public spaces requires a contextual approach, with thoughtful consideration and action to navigate the challenges and complexities of an inherently interdisciplinary practice within socio-spatial contexts.

To initiate more sustainable processes and ensure long-term structural stability, it is crucial to draw on the expertise of local people and to take their needs into consideration. The primary focus should be on networking and strengthening existing local initiatives and structures. Without the support of social movements that sustain artistic initiatives, any artistic intervention will remain fleeting and quickly fade into insignificance. The slogan NO UFO! serves as a reminder that projects of this nature should not be introduced as an alien entity, disconnected from their surroundings and context.9 At the same time, the slogan urges cultural work to critically reflect on and transparently address its own positioning, role, origins, and privileges in the development of art and cultural projects. The aim is not merely to reinvent the city through the interaction of all project participants, but rather to enable it to be reclaimed by local initiatives and individuals. This means that cultural practitioners must exercise restraint in shaping artistic narratives.10

Processes of this kind do not only deal with social structures in a metaphorical sense, or through formal research. Rather, they operate within the social systems themselves, dealing with matters such as local problems in the education and housing sectors, asylum law, ageing or unemployment.

Interesting partners in Leipzig include not only the many socio-cultural centres and local culture venues, associations and places of cultural education across all disciplines, but also libraries, literature houses, clubs and concert halls, independent art spaces and galleries, cinemas, museums as well as theatre, dance and performance locations. As local initiatives, they can discuss their individual needs and topics with a city curator.