The Public Voice

Abstract

The Public Voice discusses art and activism in public space through the lens of how art practice is re-territoralising public space. The article begins with a consideration of both commissioned and uncommissioned works that challenge male dominance of public space while retaining a traditional relationship between the artist, art and the public. Through a discussion of ‘relational’ public practices from Relational Aesthetic to Community Art to Social Engagement, the article argues that the kind of ‘relational’ art and activism undertaken by the collectives, teams and individuals featured in this issue of The Journal of Public Space is linked by spatial practice as a conduit for social change. By framing their practice through a discussion around her own spatial public practice over time, the author emphasises the impact of urbanisation and digitalisation on the changing nature of public space and the public and how the public voice can be mapped through art and activism.