Curating the City

Sunday Seminar - Pay Attention Please

At the kick-off of the biannual manifestation Public Art Amsterdam, Joanna Warsza (Public Art Munich), Adeola Enigbokan (University of Amsterdam) and others will discuss the power of art in the public space. Over the past decennia, the distinction between private and public space in Amsterdam has changed. While private property is taking over the public domain, the shrinking public space is being reduced to group experiences and monocultural entertainment. It is about the space we share, which defines both our collective and our autonomous, individual existence.

This Sunday Seminar will scrutinise the development of the public space in Amsterdam and at the same time explore, together with specialists, new opportunities for art in and for the public domain. Key questions are: How can we design public space with art and how can we maintain space for the different groups of people using the city? Can art counterbalance these tendencies? Can works of art create a climate in which the public space feels like shared space? Or are they no more than high-quality decoration, serving as means of branding and gentrification? 

The seminar ‘Pay Attention Please! Curating the City’ is part of the biannual manifestation Public Art Amsterdam. Eleven leading Amsterdam art institutions join forces in the manifestation ‘Pay Attention Please!’ showing the richness of the Amsterdam public space, during the summer of  2018. Public Art Amsterdam is initiated by CBK Zuidoost, De Appel, Framer Framed, GET LOST- art route, Frankendael Foundation, LAPS / Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Stichting NDSM Wharf, Oude Kerk Amsterdam, P/////akt, Stedelijk Museum and TAAK.

This activity is free of charge. More information on the website.