Art and public space: a case of cultural regeneration

In recent decades cities had to deal with increasingly complex problems, including the reduction of population and the reuse of brownfield sites, and innovative planning tools, together with greater participation in regeneration processes and attention to the quality of life, were required. From this viewpoint, culture and art were more and more put in connection with urban transformation policies so that works of art went out of the museums, creating a tighter contact between the artists and the public. In this perspective art can be seen no longer as a mean of human expression or, more prosaically, a new urban economic engine, but also a tool for local development, to stimulate co-design initiatives for the transformation of 'neighborhood' spaces, to achieve regenerative objectives with effects not only on the economic life but also on the well-being of the community. Therefore, we are seeing the increasing involvement of artists in the transformation of the city, entering into urban regeneration processes with a sustainable approach that focuses on the process rather than on art objects and which also takes into account social intentions. All this stimulates an interaction among professionals with different skills to "make cities", creating relationships and opportunities for effective dialogue. Traditionally, city art was connected to sculpture only, but still its function was always linked to political and social values. Since the 1960s installations, performances, as well as the space in which they are positioned, have gained increased importance in artistic expression. The work of art opens up to everyday objects, to linguistic expression, and the political and social context. Since the meaning of public art is not univocal, in this paper it is used to indicate activities and installations not only realized outside of exhibition spaces, such as museums and galleries, but rather interacting with public space. The influence of the economic globalization on art has been reflected in the emergence of international artists, "nomadic" curators and global contemporary art collectors. Installation works, even on a large scale, built for a specific site as part of art exhibitions, often highlight a social commitment, the experiential participation of viewers, almost making the public space of the exhibition private. In this scenario we investigate Manifesta, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, the first important nomadic event, born in contexts in which profound cultural and political changes have occurred as consequences of the 1996 fall of the Berlin Wall. Manifesta was launched with the aim of contributing to the redesign of Europe after the Cold War, engaging critically with the new suburbs. Every two years Manifesta is hosted by, and interacts in, a different European city with the aim of inducing an "alternative aesthetic vision to the local", but also of offering "heterotopic sites of emerging cultural production". This was particularly evident in Palermo, where the recovery and reuse of prestigious buildings and gardens within the event provided a backdrop for citizens and artists, but especially for visitors, to rethink the city. Starting from these premises, the study - which is part of a wider CNR research project concerning best practices in urban and social regeneration based on art events - illustrates: the relationships between public art and art exhibitions; Manifesta Palermo and the process of urban regeneration; and the conclusion.