Temporality and Public Art

Welcome to a discussion on the issues that arise when public art is repositioned and expanded, when timeframes for public art are renegotiated and categories such as permanent and temporary appear in a new light.

There is an ongoing shift in how we view public art’s ability to function over time. Public art has traditionally been associated with concepts such as duration and permanence, both in relation to an artwork’s subject matter and to its expression. Today, however, there are an increasing number of temporary art projects in urban spaces. What is the reason for this shift? Is it related to a changed perception of the role of art in society? Or is it because there is a new way of considering the relationship between artwork and viewer? Is there still a need to think in terms of memory, permanence and long timelines, or is this a thing of the past?

Participants:
Malin Arnell and Åsa Elzén, Artists
Kajsa Dahlberg, Artist
Carl-Oscar Sjögren, Artistic Leader and Founder of The Non Existent Center, Ställbergs Gruva
Katarina Pirak Sikku, Artist
Dan Karlholm, Professor and Subject Coordinator of Art History, the School of Culture and Education, Södertörn University
Håkan Nilsson, Professor of Art History, the School of Culture and Education, Södertörn University
Oscar Svanelid, Doctoral Student, the School of Culture and Education, Södertörn University
Charlotte Bydler, Senior Lecturer in Art History, the School of Culture and Education, Södertörn University
Rebecka Katz Thor, Editor, Publications and Research, Public Art Agency Sweden

Organised by Public Art Agency Sweden and Södertörn University, the Temporality and Public Art symposium is the second public programme in a collaboration entitled Renegotiations: The Role of Public Art after the Turn of the Millennium (2019–2020), which forms part of the government commission Knowledge Hub Public Art and will result in symposia and seminars, as well as scholarly articles published by Södertörn University Press.