“Art aims to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance”, Greek polymath Aristotle remarked. Public art in cities worldwide seeks to pursue this aim by offering a sense of meaning and identification to its residents. Taking the form of murals, installations, sculptures, and statues, public art engages with audiences outside of museums and in the public realm. This art presents a democratic manner of collectively redefining concepts like community, identity, and social engagement.
Public art is an efficient way for communities to create a new image, solve a problem, or tell a story. This form of imagery takes the public domain as a locus for inspiration and expression, employing a participatory process to create the pieces. Along with the community, the artist follows a civic design-making process. The collaboratively created artwork may be permanent, temporarily installed, or completed only upon participation with it. The site-specific and people-centric practice is a pivotal contributor to the social fabric of urban areas.
