Output details

Embedding public art: practice, policy and problems

This research was driven by recognition that, despite the significant increase in art specifically made for the public realm since the 1980s, its inscription into relevant policy and recognition of the associated processes in its production were uneven. Despite a backdrop of persistent advocacy in planning and arts policy as to public art’s potential impact and significance, there was no clear picture of the level of its actual adoption by local authorities or through which departments, no sense of its implementation, or the problems encountered and solutions found.

In addressing this gap in knowledge, this research drew together and consolidated pre-existing sporadic data and combined this with fresh empirical information based on the first thorough survey of its kind. This was then built upon through in-depth semi-structured interviews with key local authority representatives. This fleshing out of the core data underpins the significance of the research, in moving beyond a statistical snapshot toward a broader understanding of the relationship between policy and its enactment 'on the ground.' It signaled that the enthusiastic advocacy belied an uneven and piecemeal policy approach. The aim therefore was to produce research that could inform policy-making on public art, particularly where public art might sit within local authority frameworks and also point toward the need for more rigour and consistency in policy-making.

The interdisciplinary relevance of this article is evidenced by its citing in journals such as: GeoJournal, Social and Cultural Geography, Environment and Planning A, Visual Culture in Britain and the International Journal of Arts in Society. It is also cited in an International Benchmarking Review of UK Human Geography: Briefing Note Overview of UK Research in Urban Geography by Phil Hubbard for the Royal Geographical Society.