PASW Regional Newsletter: Autumn 2000
Public Art Forum Update - Simon Grennan
Thinking about Sustainability at Public Art Forum
In the last fifteen years, public art in Britain has experienced an unprecedented period of growth and development. There have been a variety of reasons for this. First, the growth of a large, evenly spread society of British artists intent on connecting their practices to society and environment. Second, the increasing realisation on the part of the traditional planning professions of the practical uses of art. Finally, the imposition of a number of political agendas that have, perhaps unwittingly, fostered the congruence of art, audience and planning - particularly the National Lottery Capital Development Scheme and the social economics of the Third Way.
At the turn of the Millennium, public art practices which, even ten years ago, might have seemed unlikely partners with Local Authority planners are now part of a mainstream canon of redevelopment. Focused, well documented studies of the benefits of involving art and artists in planning are emerging from a mass of common knowledge accumulated by planners and artists alike. At this moment, it would seem timely to both reflect upon the history of this brief period, to ask questions and to look forward. The relationship between capital development on one hand and the continuing stream of daily life on the other is still uneasy. How will the programmes put in place by the recent collaborations between art and planning sustain themselves?
The question of sustainability is emerging as one of the new paradigms for art in the public domain. This means continually looking forward, beyond the specific local conditions under which art is today developed and included in the environment. Thinking for the continued and future use of art is a direct result of current thinking about the practical benefits of including art and artists. As proofs of these benefits become more widely used, the often ad-hoc history of public art in Britain comes into clearer focus. Both cultural and environmental planners are able to see that the art included in development has an important future as well as a burgeoning past.
In October this year, Public Art Forum will host a major national symposium aimed at interrogating the notion of sustainability. It will focus closely on a number of emerging themes: the ways in which the requirements of capital and revenue funding effect thinking about the future of commissioned work, the relationship between maintenance and renewal, and ways in which ideas about the benefit of including art might change over time. Information about this symposium will appear in early September. For other information about Public Art Forum, and to become a member, call Lisa Harty on (01237) 470 440.
Simon Grennan, Director, Public Art Forum