Art for whom? – Reflections on the use of artistic and cultural resources in urban regeneration

Abstract

Artistic and cultural resources are inside urban competitive schemes often regarded or exploited as a tool that could help increase the distinctiveness, uniqueness and attractiveness of global cities and consequently provide work for the local economic base. The article analyses whether this culture and art ‘consumptive oriented approach’ tends to diminish the importance of specific types of (sub)cultural resources which are on the short‐term more difficult to manage or translate into economic capital. The article tries to analyse and expose the value of neglected types of artistic and (sub)cultural resources, which can on the long‐term significantly influence the city development. The problematic of subcultural capital is discussed on the basis of theoretical cross‐cultural comparison of artistic interventions and case study analysis of subcultural art spaces in Ljubljana.