Infusing citizenship through the practice of Public Art: The case of Medellin

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the: MSc Building and Urban Design in Development Word Count: 10663 words

Lina Gonzalez Development Planning Unit Bartlett Faculty University College of London 3 September 2012

INDEX
Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 - The citizenships debate
Democratization, Recognition and Empowerment The Urgency of promoting new values and practices of solidarity Why Public Art: Joining citizenship with Public Arts examples

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Chapter 2 - A Public Art practice for the public interest 12

Framing the main elements of this kind of Art Comprehensive social analysis & Strategic approach The selection and role of the Artist The significance of the Arts process What should encompass the Final Product? Going beyond the artwork Analytical Framework: Assessment criteria

Chapter 3: Case Study: Public Art in Medellin

Understanding Medellins past & Shaping Medellins future Skin of Memory Graffitour & Operation Hip Hop Tree of life Main findings across these interventions

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Conclusions References Figures

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks to Rita for her patience, advice and kind attitude. To Camilo and William for all their guidance, feedback and energy throughout the year and to all of my BUDD friends for making this year so much fun and sharing so many special moments. To my Dad, Mum and my sister Carito for being such a supportive and loving family and of course to Craig my husband for giving me so much support, love and happiness. Also huge thanks to Colfuturos and DPU. The first for giving me the financial support to make this year possible and the second for making it an unforgettable experience. This dissertation is dedicated to my city, Medellin and to the people that have been trying so vehemently to make it a better place to live.

INTRODUCTION
The intervention of Mayor Mockus in Bogota called by some journalists "the 6.5 million people classroom" or "Democracy from theory to practice, focused on changing citizens hearts and minds through artistically creative strategies. The city - considered by some - as a place on the verge of chaos, choked with violence, lawless traffic, corruption and gangs (Caballero, 2004) was the stage of a raising-consciousness discourse about the value of life and the importance of living together in harmony. Theatrical displays, mimes artists, educational games and symbolic visual artworks occupied the streets of the city between 1995-1997. New symbolic rules for changing routines and metaphorical messages were cleverly implemented in the congress and spread to the public through different channels. Interventions such as a Public vaccination against Violence, Supercitizen and Stars on the streets amongst others, gained peoples attention, and then, made them think. Citizens first laughed at Mockus' antics, but the laughter began to break the ice of their extreme skepticism (Caballero, 2004, p.2). This case has been the initial inspiration in looking up at new alternatives of how to face urban problems. It seems clear that individualism, consumption, competition and unconsciousness are characteristics so embedded in peoples behaviour. Moral and ethical values are in decline. War is justified and encouraged for commercial gains. Food production was maximized, but also controlled and denied to most of the population and the ideal of Freedom and
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democracy has been imposed worldwide covering up other interests (Harvey, 1989). This situation is deepened in many developing cities, where the unprecedented growth of economic and social inequalities has broadened the differences between citizens and reduced its areas of commonality. As a result the social imaginary of a nation of commensurable citizens, and the performances that sustain it fail (Turner, 1993). In the academic world, it is widely recognized that contemporary cities are places of multiplicities and differences, and that an intensive and real democracy is necessary. However, tangible observations of social conflicts, racism, intolerance, domination and oppression are increasing concerns in developing cities. This proves that the current debate of citizenship is far away from being assimilated in society. Therefore, this dissertation explores the contribution of softening strategies for the development of the citizenship institution [frame by the state and law] and the citizenship practice [undertook/executed by citizens in everyday life]. The obvious place for instigating change is from each individual being. Mockus intervention has been a good example of this, by establishing a dialogue with citizens through the sensitized by art, humour, and creativity". It shows that the effects of catalyst events, experiences and processes can open citizens up to the possibility of alternative realities. Also, the discourse of Laundy (2000) and Sandercook (2003) claims a new intellectual apparatus and mindset in planning, able to imagine a different kind of city exposed to new ideas, methods and process to face urban crisis. Creativity and Innovation describes a new method of strategic urban planning, in which the artistic and cultural capital is used to foster social development. The last author argues that by bringing artists into the urban conversation, a rich variety of languages and skills can be used to interact directly with the public. Artists do have a practiced skill in mobilizing cultural resources to foster consensus (Phillips, 1995). This paper explores what are these skills and how they can be used to contribute to the construction of a better society.

This paper positions Public Art, as an art for the public interest and needs. The main focus of analysis is in tune with Suzanne Lacys description of New Genre Art an art characterized for its developed sensibility about audience, social strategy and effectiveness. It is not limited to its aesthetic mode of producing space, neither to its resistance, and includes all the variety of forms and channel of communication in which Art operates - from the traditional conceptualization of Public Art in public spaces, to Communitarian Art, Media Art, Activist Art and Popular Art. Therefore, the aim of this dissertation is to outline the debate of citizenship and to understand to what extent can Public Art be used as a tool in urban social development for reinforcing a sense of citizenship within civil society?. This question is worth asking, because there is an urgency in identifying alternative practices that can contribute to the formation of a more cohesive and harmonious city. Art critiques rarely include social accountability as an indicator, decreasing the possibility of expanding the practice in process of development. Also, any research that link these two subjects hasnt been found and, as the mainstream practices of Public Art have little or nothing to do with social constructions, positive practices have been overshadowed. For example, until recently, the use and understanding of Public Art has been limited only to a piece of art installed in public spaces to contribute to the enhancement of urban environments. Now, Public Art has been strongly criticized by urban theorists, of becoming an instrument of capitalist urban development to project an external image of the city, and a complicit of uneven development involved in processes of gentrification (Miles & Hall 2003). An aspect of cultural domination where the artists style and commissioners ideology prevails over cultural representations and public values, or a practice that has become aestheticized and manufactured into a sign for consumption. The first chapter compiles the main perspectives of citizenship and highlights the mutual dependency of their proposals in todays complex society. Parallel to this, successful examples of Public Art related to those discourses - are outlined in order to analyse how
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future Public Art interventions should be conceived and operated for fostering the development of citizenship The second chapter is an attempt to develop a framework of action for urban interventions, providing a debate of essential issues and highlighting important fixed characteristics, variables and risks in its process through the analysis of a large variety of Public Art examples. Finally, the third chapter will focus on analyzing the case of Medellin, Colombia, in its attempt to tackle the urban social conflict in two informal settlements and on a wider city scale. This case is relevant because, regardless of the progressive social transformation and good governance in the last decade, there is still a big challenge in recovering the civil society and social cohesion of the city. Especially if we take into the account the deepened social fragmentation and the cultural deterioration that the wave of violence in the 1990s has produced it.

CHAPTER 1: The citizenship debate.

Democratization, Recognition and Empowerment
The current dominant debate of citizenship is an attempt to deepen it in a more political manner, aiming to bring greater and more intensive democracy in all areas of society. This vision goes beyond the traditional discourses of liberals [based on a set of rights, equality and individual freedom] and communitarians [based on a radical kind of public commitment and participation retreated from the state] by offering a different image of an ideal citizenship; one that recognize the cultural diversity of our society and the differentiation between individuals, but also that acknowledge the importance of opening processes in which individuals have the opportunity of shaping their lives according to their interests. Radical democrats see this possibility through an active political participation, encouraged by recent events, in which the emerging urban social movements are transforming claims into rights. (Appadurai and Holston, 1999; Harvey, 2012). For them, there is a need of an extensive political participation for citizens to instigate social change, and as this right is fully dismissed by representative democracies, this should be demanded from below in order to bring politics out of the state and into society. However, Habermas believes that this activism is not enough and that there is a need of providing a discursive moment, a channel of communication between civil society and state. For him an informed public debate should be created to articulate problems and to look for solutions through a deliberative process (Delanty, 2000). However, Feminists acknowledge a problem in these conceptions, because they presuppose a society based on autonomous and strong individuals, forgetting the often domination of strong groups upon weak groups - especially the eldery, women, children, disabled and the poor. Therefore, their emphasis is in a politics of difference which assumes the contestation and negotiation of identity (Young,
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1989). Feminists claim for differential rights to empower the oppressed and a channel of communication within society. Not with the aim of arriving at a consensus but in bringing as many voices as possible to articulate problems and engrain the recognition of difference in the public sphere (Frazer and Lacey, 1993). The recognition of diversity - developed mainly by Stevenson and Somers - emphasizes the narrative model of citizenship, in which both the individual and collective sustain memories, shared values and experiences. In this sense, citizenship is concerned to preserve the language, cultural models, narratives and discourses that people use to make sense of their society, interpret their place in it and construct courses of action but also it opens the status of culture as discursively constructed(Delanty 2002). Therefore, one of its main challenges is to offer access for different cultural groups to make an intervention into the public sphere at the local, national and global level, in order to contest dominant discourses and develop a new vision of the world which entails our complex society. (Stevenson, 2001)

The urgency of promoting new values and practices of solidarity

However, social theorists argue that the previous debates of democratic citizenship take for granted a pre-social order and a number of structural and cultural preconditions [a civic and political culture, a common public realm, the existence of common values, the erosion of individuals commitments and an administrative framework of the nation-state] that clearly doesnt exist in many nations in the world today. Therefore, they believe that the debate should also focus on the problem of social order in modern societies, proposing the insertion of new values and the need to institutionalize social solidarity (Turner, 1993) The problem of social order has been discussed extensively by many social theorists, bringing back the traditional idea of Civil Society as a way to reconstruct an ideal model for social life. Much like today its
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emergence was the result of a crisis in social order. It was an attempt to reset the moral sources from within the human world. At that time, the theories of The Scottish Enlightment were acknowledged - revealing that two divergent and contradictory principles altruism and egotism fluctuates in any mans behaviour,and the social implications measured. Therefore, a moral code and an ethical vision of the public good was introduced positioning society over and above the individual (Seligman, 1993, p. 140). Durkheim emphasizes on a moral individualism as the basis of solidarity (Turner, 1993). Smith, expands the realm on natural affections and sociability, in which men act as private individuals (Seligman, 1993) and Roseau stresses on the creation of civic bonds, in where individualism reaches its highest commitment to public life (Delanty, 2000, p. 31). However, Seligman pointed out that Civil Society is a fragile idea to build on, especially in todays world characterized by a liberal individualism (Seligman, 1993), while Habermass is skeptical in integrating complex societies by resource to substantive values. Despite the advocations and oppositions, its formation is a necessity, not in the ability to overcome conflicts but in promoting values of trust, commitment and solidarity, values that allow democracy to flourish. (Putman, 1993). For this outcome, Shooter gave us a less radical position and a long term vision. He believes in the creation of a unique individuality that also allow us to understand our fellowship with all of humankind if it is understood in terms of join [formative] activities producing over time, building values that subsist in the negotiations between people (Shotter, 1993, p.134). Finally, it is important to mention the analysis of Delanty in order to set strategies for its development. For him, citizenship is developed and reproduced through a learning process in the culture of the everyday life. This acknowledge that a sense of citizenship can be reinforced or denied by our culture, but also that there is a possibility in changing the cultural beliefs that guide social action, if new values are embedded in common experiences in the everyday life, or through a consciousness-raising discourse based on the capacity of the culture to reflect about their actions (Delanty, 2003).

Why Public Art : Joining citizenship with Public Arts examples.

The previous literature mentioned a vast variety of issues, all indispensable for the social cohesion and individuals fulfillment. The main debates were focused on: [1] the public recognition of diversity and difference; [2] the abolition of any type of domination through an extended democracy; and [3] the recovery of the civil society. The following part is an attempt to link this debate with some successful Public Art practices that have contributed in one way or other in developing the citizenship institution and practice. They are discussed here, in order to illustrate that there is not a unique model to proceed, neither a unique response. All of them emerged as a response of each contexts problematic, culture and resources.

Group 1: Processes of empowerment and recognition.

This group takes a social approach looking for spaces of negotiation and mutual cooperation. They have empowered alternative discourses of marginalized groups by gaining recognition and offering liberative experiences in those peoples everyday lives. This type of art is based on dialogue, partnerships and social interaction, moving from objects to relationship, from products to process. (Gablik, 1991; Lacy, 1995)

Figure 1,2: The Homeless Theatre - Play in an open theatre - First Theatre group

The Homeless Theatre in Los Angeles is an ongoing

project, famously recognized for opening a space to speak and relate with others. By holding weekly talent shows in the streets, the founder recruits homeless people to do large performances. He is more a facilitator than a director, supporting their initiatives, while developing some technical and corporal capabilities amongst the group. With more than 100 performances in the street and theatres based on the living autobiographies of its performers -, this group has reflected the social, psychological, and political forces shaping the lives of the homeless
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while changing other citizens perceptions. According to the artist What homeless need is caring but also situations that allow them to participate in life (Gablik, 1991, p. 103) Likewise, Touch Sanitation (1978-1984); was an art project developed for 6 years with the citys rubbish collectors in New York. Firstly, the artist initiated a process of dialogue with them to gain their confidence in order to listen, transmit and change their sense of isolation. Through performances and physical artworks the artist made visible their valuable work in the public sphere; while changing the overall perception of citizens. The Handshake performance was a symbolic gesture of shaking hands with 8.500 garbage men, and the Social Mirror intervention was an artwork that reflected the clean streets on the rubbish collector trucks (Miles, 1997; Krug, 2006).

Group 2: Contestation of dominant discourses and practices

This group instead, takes a more political action foregrounding sites for contestation from within. They questioned the borders of knowledge, desire and power in society, interrupting the dominant paradigm, by creating awareness in citizens to change the existing perceptions (Rowe, 2003; Pinder, 2002; Mouffe, 2007).

The Carbon Web, one of Platforms best projects is engaged with

social and environmental justice, highlighting the global implications that our way of living is producing. Platform, is an organization that intervene urban spaces in order to contest and re-function prevailing norms and ideologies by un-hiding dominant power relations in the spatial production of cities. However, its main strategy is to gain effectiveness by a joined action - combining art, activism, education and research - and the use of different means of communication, methodologies and styles. For example, The metaphor of the light bulb addresses the route from start to end of its illumination, highlighting in the route its global impacts. (Pinder, 2002). Also, the visual artwork of Sonia Boyce - a contemporary Black/British artist - opened a contestation and negotiation of her ethnic group identity in London. She has been constantly unpacking Morris position
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Lay back, keep quiet and think about what made Britain so great, by giving a different conceptualization of the city and its interdependence history on the colonial times (Rowe, 2003). However, its impact is very low, for being limited to a small public of art professionals and exhibiting only in galleries.

Group 3: Bringing new ideals and values into the society

These interventions are not related for their focus, but for their capacity of engaging with a large number of urban citizens. They recognized the importance of diversifying channels and languages of communication and representation. They mix up with popular culture and generate provocative interventions in order to create memorable experiences for the public. Its purpose is the creation and transmission of new visions, values and formative experiences in order to stimulate process of change. The urban experience provided by Jim Lundys work in 1990 by grassing over Melbournes main street and transforming it to pedestrian use for a short period of time had encouraged a public awareness and a raised heated debate in the city. Later, it led to the first pedestrianisation program in central Melbourne (Laundry, 1995). Finally, the intervention of Mayor Mockus in Bogota - previously mentioned in the introduction - fostered a culture of citizenship, described by him as the sum of habits, behaviors, actions and minimum common rules that generate a sense of belonging to facilitate the coexistence and harmony among citizens. As the program was extensive, only the most innovative and effective interventions are stated here: [1] A game of more than 350,000 thumbs-up and thumbs-down were cards distributed to citizens in the streets of Bogota, in order to approve or disapprove other citizens' behavior. This game,
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Figure 3, 4: Touch Sanitation: -The Social Mirror -Mierle Ukeless Figure 5, 6: The Carbon Web: -Research book cover -Impacts of the oil exploitation in Nigeria

complemented with the creation of one super hero Super Citizen and the institutionalization of the day without car, had a massive impact in improving the civic culture and creating a mechanism of social auto-regulation in the city. [2] By painting stars on the streets in the places where more than 1.500 pedestrians had been killed in traffic accidents, combined with the hiring of 420 mimes to control traffic and teach the rules through humor and the creation of The Knight of the Zebra1 reduced traffic fatalities by more than half in this administration. [3] The use of symbolic practices such us a public vaccination against violence and the carrot law2 for promoting a healthy culture without weapons, alcohol and drugs, were part of a large strategy to reduce homicides by more than 70% in the city (Caballero, 2004; Montezuma, 2005) It is perhaps the best example, not only for its scope and proven results but also for its consistency and comprehensive approach. However, all of these results couldnt be achieved without an excellent governance and collective leadership that were developed.

Figure 7, 8, 9: Antanas Mockus interventions in Bogota. - Stars on the streets to prevent accidents. - Super Citizen. - Mimes on the street to teach traffic rules

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A club of good taxi drivers, who advised Mockus about how to improve driving behavior Carrot is a slang used for orderly people.

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CHAPTER 2: A Public Art practice for the public interest.

Framing the main elements of this kind of Art
This part is an attempt to frame a type of Public Art - from a planning perspective - that can eventually contribute to the transformation of the existing citizenship institution and practice. However, many artists have criticized the advocacy of Public Art as a practice to alleviate some of the citys social problem, as a technocratic suggestion. (Hall & Robertson, 2001) Perhaps, this reluctance happened because there is a risk of the institutionalization of Public Art as a mechanical process that finally could serve to the reproduction of dominant constructions by pacifying citizens. This framework was pieced together by imagining a planning process: since its foundation, to the selection of the artist, then to the process of creation, to the final product, and finally to the continuity and scaling up of the overall intervention. In order to do that, this section frequently refers to others disciplines theories and existing Public Art examples, since entirely artworks do not capture all the varied levels on which art operates.

Comprehensive social analysis & strategic approach

There is a risk of initiating the arts intervention without a clear understanding of what the problem is, and what needs to be achieved. The identification of current problems, areas of intervention, the use of resources and existing social capital, is fundamental for its success and it goes beyond the artists scope. A platform of knowledge and practice is required to transgress the boundaries of academic disciplines, the boundaries that separate high and popular culture and the boundaries that separate academia from the everyday world (Cresswell, 2003, p.17). Therefore, the collaboration of an interdisciplinary team - including artists, anthropologists,
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sociologists, urban planners - and the involvement of regular citizens are essential in setting up a comprehensive social analysis and a guideline of action (Collins & Gotto, 2003).

The selection and role of the artist

The role of the artist is a key element in articulating processes of social transformation. It must to move beyond the artworks creation and requires a direct relationship with the public. It seems clear that the artist selection 3 should be deduced through the analysis of the cultural beliefs, the compatibility with the audience and context requirement. However, the artists commitment in positioning the practice at the service of collective gains over their own professional agenda is a fix requirement. This is relevant because multiples critiques highlight the social disengagement and lack of commitment of todays artists. Modernism has exalted art as an autonomous discipline, focused entirely in aesthetics, whilst postmodernism lost completely a narrative of meaning, the union between signifier and signified, and its social function. For Baudrillard, the artist of our times has no useful role to play in the world. It is an art for arts sake an art without value. (Gablik, 1991). Some theorists have blamed this situation to the specialization of professional knowledge in art. They have grown in isolation from society. Its mainstream learning and practice is still dominated by mediators, art managers and dealers, enforcing notions of aesthetic qualities as a closed consensus. As a result, success has become a matter of exalted individualism, egocentrism and social disengagement, clearly expressed in Ortega and Gassets critic The dehumanization of art 4.

such as: the involvement of local or international artists, high experienced or beginners, with professional background or empirical abilities, a collective of solo artists or that include social practitioners, between others. 4 Critique based on a painting of a guy dying. What was ironic was that The guy dying was not the concern of the aesthetics; instead, the design and geometrical composition was the essential issue. (Gablik, 1991, p. 36)

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This paper argues that in order to position Public Art as a social development practice, artists need to internalize the current debate, and apply it in the process. For example: in processes of recognition and empowerment artists are facilitators, moderators; in the contestation of dominant discourses, they became researches, activists, while in promoting new ideals to society, they became transmitters, creators of symbols and new visions. The examples described in chapter 1, clearly illustrate how important is their role. However, by looking in detail, most of the cases had been initiated by the artist itself, and it raises the question, if a commissioned artwork intervention will have the same results than a spontaneous one.

The significance of the Arts process

The process of the artworks creation has a potential role in transforming, maintaining, enhancing, or challenging the existing citizenship institution and practice. It could be the space for institutionalizing by practice, a democratic culture based on dialogue, deliberation and collective construction; but also it could be the means to empower other discourses, to develop new capabilities, to encourage a sense of belonging and/or to contest dominant forms of representation by building cultural structures of collective power. The artist Judy Baca, suggests two working models, a collaborative and a democratic process: In some productions the artist can get a large amount of input from the community before they are going for the power of the image 5 . Thats one model. Another is a fully collaborative process in which you give the voice to the community and they make the image(Lacy, 1995, p, 32). In both processes, participation is outlined, but not defined. This paper argues that in order to reinforce citizenship, participation is essential. From it, citizenship can be learned and rooted by practice (Delanty, 2010). Therefore a process of creation through participation could be understood as: a micro-political practice through which the participant becomes an active agent (Miessen, 2004); a collective
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In this quote she was specifically relating to the construction of murals in public spaces, but for the intention of this dissertation it could also be referred to other forms of Art.

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process that stimulate bonds of solidarity and the recognition of difference and diversity; a practice that encourage the integration between participants; in conclusion a process in which the citizenships debate can be stimulated and put in practice with the participants. It seems inadequate to frame a unique type of process; all depends on the context and the actors involved. However, it is paramount to recognize that processes are as important as the final outcome, and that it is essential to take advantages of the opportunities that exist within it.

What should encompass the Final Product?

The final product is understood here as a catalytic event to generate changes. It is the materialization of the process transmitted in a special way to a selected audience, in order to interact and initiate a social dialogue with them. This part discusses the different alternatives to engage with the public and two powerful tools unique to the practice.

Relevance of place & media

Here, it is questioned if Public Art should still be considered a practice developed exclusively on public spaces, or if it is only one of its options. It seems clear that with the more often privatization of the public spaces, the spatial fragmentation in cities and the expansion of mass media technologies into the private domain, the public realm is not exclusively at the domain of the physical spatiality (Phillips,2003). The public is getting more and more often expressed not through the place but through the flows (Castells 1996) and it implies a new way of action in order to reach and engage with a heterogeneous and larger public. Therefore, the inclusion of different channels of communication that moves beyond the imposition of an artwork into place is necessary.

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Many activist artists have acknowledged this challenge and in order to deliver their message effectively, their approach was diversified. For example, The "Domestic Violence" made by the artist Peggy Diggs in 1992, was a landmark in its time, for using an advertising strategy to access women or children involved in violent relationships. The project consisted of putting an image on over one million cartons of milk with information about domestic abuse and a telephone line of support. Also, artist Deedee Halleck created a five nights of unconventional live coverage and later initiated a public access TV series called Paper Tiger Television in order to demystify the information produced by the media industry and to offer a broader channel of communication for activist groups to gain public support. (Lacy, 1995) However, the Art workshop practice End of the Line re-vitalizes the significance of place. This project, developed on the Mexico-USA border by Guillermo Gomez Pea, illustrates the political power of site-specific performance in gaining media attention. In Gomez Peas words: A cultural act emerging from such a politically charged site... carries much more weight and many more implications than similar gestures in the interior of either country (Lacy, 1996, p. 10). The previous example, together with the contribution of Sandercook who highlights the significance of keeping a public memory in the citys physicality - and the recent mobilization of social movements occupying the streets (Appadurai & Holston, 1999) show us that place still remains fundamental to the problems of membership in society; not only for its political connotation but as a way to keep a collective identity. Therefore, it is a must in promoting a spatial outcome for this kind of practice.

Figure 10: The Domestic Violence. Distributed during Jan-Feb 1992 New Jersey. Figure 11: The End of the Line. Border Art workshop. USA-Mexico

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Symbolism & Experiences:

Traditionally, Public Art has been used to represent an authority, an ideology or an event in history6 in order to shape a collective identity and a way of thinking society (Mc Quire, 2008; Miles & Hall 2003). This paper questions if Public Art is able to maintain the power of representation7 previously assumed in other times in history, and if the traditional conception of beauty is still consistent in our times. According to Baudillard, the image as the root of representation has lost its meaning. For him, we live in a transaesthetic era characterized by the mixing up of all cultures and styles, where the invasion and circulation of images and text in diverse spaces, are bringing more and more uncertainty about which images and text serve what functions, for whom and in what context. Hence, this entails a new complexity and a new kind of engagement to Public Artists, to communicate and interact with a broader and diversified audience (Toffoletty, 2011). Many artists have acknowledged this problem, but also the inconvenience in using contemporary art - so often abstract - and global arts trends, that evidently are not understandable neither appreciated by the ordinary public. It is clear that a Public Art for the public interest is not targeted explicitly to a traditional audience educated in art and it implies a new challenge in Public Art interventions on processing and producing a context specifics artworks in tune with the cultural modes of reception. Activist artists have been attracted in understanding what constitutes a popular culture and the possibilities of producing Art through it. So much so, that in the seventies a range of american artists interrupted television broadcast programs with art performances. Lynn Hershman was one of the first artists to notice how the images and values of the culture that
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Figure 12, 13: The Great of Los Angeles. 1975- Continuing 2400 feet long and still unfinished It portrays the struggles and contributions of indigenous peoples and immigrant minorities.

Some examples are: 1. Statues of monarchs, emperors or deities. 2. The art of the Third Reich, to spread the Nazis ideology, 3. Memorials to honour those who were in the World Wars I & II. 7 Understood as cognitive symbols that represents external reality

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produces the advertising and TV programs, invaded our subconscious cultural identity. For her it is essential the creation of a dialogue that becomes two way and interactive (Lacy, 1995, p. 26). Lundy and Mockus demonstrated that through the provision of liberating/innovative experiences and a direct interaction with the public, this could be turned into the best strategy for public engagement, which is also unique to the practice. Process as end as well as a mean, fit into the Lefebvres emphasis on the everyday; in his effort to claim value for experimental spaces and to see moments for liberation within routine (Pinder, 2002) However, this paper argues, that the ability of Art practice in producing social symbols need to remain and encouraged. Public Art are symbols in the city that creates a collective identity (Miles, 1996). The Statue of the Liberty and the Triumphal Arch give the most straightforward understanding of sculptural symbols, in which an abstract idea is represented by means of a narrative and personification. Symbols are rooted in the properties of our body, our senses, and our mind; they are related to meaning, are central in human communication and are the key to shape culture (Langer, 1957). The work of Judith Baca The great wall of Los Angeles, demonstrated that the materialization of the artwork, is as significance, as the creation of processes and experiences, due to the symbolism that it creates in the citys identity (Gablik, 1991). The artwork can be in itself the storytelling, but also the images that remain in peoples mind. They can be part of an individual or collective memory and also the support of a larger narrative. Therefore, the relevance of Public Art, cannot only be framed for its role as a concrete agent of change. It also needs to be understood as a practice that functions in the world of symbolism. Symbolism is fundamental in influencing behavior and in determining most of our philosophical convictions (Lacy, 1995) Finally, it seems important to question the relevance of beauty in the artwork. Lacy has quotes James Hillmans description of experience beauty as this quick intake of breath, this perceptual experience of happiness and satisfaction this ahahaha reaction is the aesthetic
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response just as certain, inevitable and objective as wincing in pain and moaning in pleasure. However, what Lacy argues is that the search for beauty doesnt necessary be fixed to the traditional museum oriented driven by novelty and this ahaha experience can truly emerge from reconstructing meaning in a way that, at that moment, appears unique to the perceiver. (Lacy, p. 45, 1995)

Going beyond the Artwork

As citizenship practice is manifested and transformed in time, this section is related to the longevity and scaling up of the overall proposal. It refers to the strategies for sustaining the outcomes achieved and for reaching new areas of influences. Some of these strategies were previously mentioned in Chapter 1 and 2, and were related to the long term engagement of citizens; whether by the creation of formative process through the provision of experiences in the everyday life [until they become internalized] just as it happened in Mockus intervention and The Homeless Theatre; or by inspiring citizens through the artwork experience of beauty in order to encourage the mobilization and an active participation of citizens in future interventions, as it happens in Christos artwork practice.
Figure 14: The out-breathing large sculptural artworks of Christo, mobilizes large amount of people. For the artist the main objective is to stimulate in ordinary people, a dialogue about art. Figure 15: The Earth Ambulance. A 10 years performance around the world

However, what is missing is how to keep the momentum and scale up the program when the intervention is finished. The definition of scaling up given by Fiori provides an answer. For him scaling- up is the potential result of a new combination of forces and actors, and, of new relations and synergies, in order to expand the scope of the program (Hernandez, Kellet & Allen, 2010). It consists on the consolidation of social capital and organizational structures of networking, but also it will depend on the capacity of establishing new partnerships and tools of empowerment that allow

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citizens to actively participate and eventually lead new interventions. The work of some activist artists8 helps us to understand the previous theory in concrete Art practices. The earth ambulance developed by the artist Helene Aylon, was a 10 years performance that struggled for nuclear disarmament and ecological awareness. Its main achievement was the development of a global network of feminist artists which also revive the performance in different areas and contexts all around the world, in order to get a special attention of the media 9 . While Platform previously mentioned - scale up its approach by diversifying within various disciplines.

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usually fully committed with a cause and with the search for a solution More than 800 women began the collaboration by contributing pillowcases with dreams and nightmares written on them, filled with earth they considered endangered. The sacks were picked up on a cross-country tour by the earth ambulance, delivered to the United Nations, and emptied in its main Plaza. Likewise, the same performance have been done for Soviet women in 1983, the Seneca womens peace encampment, a few Hiroshima survivors in 1985, and some eco-feminist writers in New York.

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Analytical Framework: Assessment criteria

The previous theoretical exploration illustrated the different debates of an ideal citizenship institution and how through Public Art interventions, citizenship can be practiced [in its processes] and spread to a greater number of people [through its final product]. The next multi-case study analyzes three Public Art examples in Medellins attempt to reconstruct its civil society. Their contribution in advancing the citizenship institution and practice will be evaluated according to the main objectives of the citizenship debate: [1] Extending a more intensive democracy in all areas of society. [2] Stimulating sincere recognition of citizens differences and cultural diversity within society. [3] Empowerment of oppressed groups to contest dominant discourses and practices. [4] Promoting new values and social solidarity to integrate and regulate society. Processes and final products are evaluated by looking at accessibility, engagement, effectiveness and longevity of interventions; but also the entire study is analyzed searching elements across the interventions that can contribute to consolidation of a city scale strategy. the the for the

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CHAPTER 3: Public Art in Medellin

Reconciling the past to look at the future
It is clear that the determinants of urban violence in Medellin are a consequence of the way in which power and citizenship has functioned throughout Medellins history. The selection of this multiple case-study shows different approaches of Public Art interventions, in the last decade, as a strategy to tackle the penetration of violence in the city. The selection of these interventions focused on the identification of a common goal, diverse approaches and actors involved, and three scales of intervention. The next part, start with a general overview of the citys context, followed up with a brief description of each example and a joint analysis.

Understanding Medellins Past

Far from renewing citizenship, violence and passivity further erode its foundations. As such erosion spreads, it threatens the very notion of a shared community and culture as the basis of citizenship. (Appadurai, A & Holston, J, 1999, p. 191)
Nearly every citizen in Medellin, has been touched in some way by the wave of violence that has been latent in the country since the 1950s and which became highly intensified in the city by gang warfare during the 1990s10. It is true, that the drug trade had shaken the city in the most horrendous way. However, it is still unclear the particular elements that have influenced the spread of violence in the city. For some, the long domination of different illegal groups and the easy money that the cocaine trade brought to the city, created a cycle of corruption and the breakdown of values in society.

10

According to the Human Rights Office in Medellin, during the nineties, the number of victims was approximately 250 thousand, almost 10% of the population.

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However, others argue that the cocaine trade was just the vehicle for the citys less powerful individuals to contest the distribution of urban political, social and economic power, and in this way threatened the historically exclusionary system of political control with its hierarchical social order (Roldan, 1997) It is clear that the intense conflict in the 1990s broke apart the city's parochial insularity and rigid social customs 11 [as we will notice later], but also brought into close contact two social worlds [informal & formal] that had until then remained largely separate and isolated from each other. Therefore, the "breakdown of traditional values" refers not to the incidence of violence per se but to the democratization of violence, affecting the citys wealthy as well as the poor (Roldan, 1997). During this time of violence and conflict the type of Art that had been produced in the city12, demonstrated that the power of Public Art can also be used to reinforce the status quo. At that time, a wave of literature works, later converted into films and sponsored by the American film industry 13 portrayed only the most violent aspects of this conflict as an everyday reality. For the writers, it was a scream for freedom; but Goodbody (2008) and Reyes (2008) argue that its conversion into film meant it lost all of its social responsibility in order to maximize Hollywood profits. As an example, La virgen de los sicarios converted later in into film Our lady of the Assassins has been highly criticized for its negative effects on Medellins society. Goodbodys highlighted that the films power of representation not only describes the cruel reality, as the
11

Figure 16: Medellins Collage, made by the author in a previous presentation. Figure 17: Cover film, Sumas y Restas, Director: Victor Gaviria

The traditional identity of Medellin was characterized for an enclave culture 11 of hard work, family values, regional pride and Catholicism but also for an inflexible top down public culture imposed by a strong union between industrial, commercial, catholic and government elites who provided the platform of legitimacy (Betancour, 2007) 12 Not supported by the local authorities. 13 For example the films Rodrigo-D No Futuro (1990), Rosario Tijeras (1999), La virgen de los sicarios (1994), La vendedora de rosas (1998), amongst others.

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life of a hire killer lost in Medellins violence, but it can even help to define it and even glorify the profession to young citizens (2008). Also Reyes criticized its aesthetic interest. Here, violence was sold as a kind of spectacle to an international public. It clearly served an aesthetic purpose, by providing a morbid pleasure, which filmmakers use to seduce their viewers into the film (Reyes, 2008). The main tangible impact of this Public Art is becoming an integrated part of Medellins psychic. It has permeated its cultural representations, creating a loss of belonging and disorientation, but also, it has become the dominant discourse [so often used in Hollywood films] to relate the city with violence and crime within the global arena, pigeonholing all Colombians culture to only one story14.

Figure 18: Typical Informal neighbourhood in Medellin. Figure 19, 20: Social Urbanismo in Comuna 13. Metrocable & Library Park

Shaping Medellins Future

Just, two decades later, the city has been able to overcome this crisis but more importantly became to understand that a social just approach of development was necessary. Under the philosophy of Social Urbanism, successive mayors have mobilized the citys political capital to address the problem from its root: inequality and social exclusion (Echeverri, 2008; Devlin, 2010) by targeting the poorest and stigmatized areas and bringing hope to the overall city. Physical interventions and an increased effort towards participatory democracy have fostered the citizenship institution and practice in the last decade. Interventions such as new transport links, the creation of new public and cultural spaces (Brand and Dvila, 2011; Fukuyama and Colby, 2011) have been widely recognized in the academic world. However, what hasnt been

14

The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story. (Adichie, 2009)

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properly discussed is their attempt to recover the social order and harmony in the city, through the artistic /popular Art agenda that those administrations have been developing15. The following three examples are described and explained through a narrative, followed by final findings across the interventions. Due to the evident lack of academic literature and taking into the account, that a sense of citizenship cannot be quantified, this part relies in the evaluation of the concepts previously developed, websites, interviews, conversations and my own perceptions. The first intervention is completely focused in the neighbourhood, the second, somehow is integrating the neighbourhood with the rest of the city, while the third example -not fully in operation yet- can be seen as a city scale intervention, not only for its strategic location but because somehow it touches everyone in the city.

Skin of memory [1997]

Skin of memory was a communitarian Public Art intervention
developed by the anthropologist Pilar Riao16 and the international artist Suzanne Lacy17, as part of a peace process promoted by the local government, in 1997. This intervention was placed in Barrio Antioquia 18 , a neighbourhood where most of its residents have suffered a painful and marginalized life, mainly produced by internal conflicts between young gangs. Citizens participation occurred from its very beginning, with a group of 90 young people - most of them linked to the conflict in some way.
15

Perhaps because there havent been enough interest from the art world in becoming part of development practices, or because a comprehensive strategy of intervention is not happening yet. 16 With a PhD in Anthropology from University of British Columbia, Riao is a researcher of Historical Memory and Violence, Refuge and Internal Displacement and Communitarian Public Art in Colombia. 17 An internationally known artist, educator and writer. Her works include "installations, video, and large-scale performances", usually focusing on "social themes and urban issues." 18 An area affected by the conflict, but also with a high stigmatization from the rest of the city, due to the urban planning polices in the 1950s. Local authorities declared in 1951, Barrio Antioquia as the only zone of Tolerance in the city, which led to criminals and prostitutes moving into the area (BPSC 2, 2006)

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Figure 21, 22: Bus Museo, Skin of Memory. Reconstructing the memory and identity in Barrio Antioquia.

A preliminary series of workshops focused on the reconstruction of memory in the neighbourhood. Participants collected and put together individual stories, photos, songs, memorable places and interviews. With these findings three interventions were made: The first one Bus Museo: Skin of Memory, was the creation of a mobile museum set in a school bus. It displayed 474 symbolic objects with their story in order that any person could visit it without being exposed to danger19. All the residents were invited to share their objects and stories, and the participants themselves were in charge of preparing and displaying the artwork. The second intervention the neighborhood is the house of all, recreated the sense of a home with domestic objects in one of the neutral crossroads in the area. This installation was exhibited for 4 weeks and was a new area for citizens socialization and appropriation and even residents wanted it as a permanent fixture. The final intervention, was the closing ceremony, in where a group of popular artists including musicians, clowns, mime artists and stilt performers formed a parade delivering 1,500 letters of hope written by all the residents of the neighbourhood (BPSC 1, 2006) Although this experience could not be quantified with indicators, in the evaluation phase, various testimonies reflect positive outcomes. For instance, one resident said that he noticed one of the young gang members was moved by the bus museum He went to the bus four times in a day he waited many times he said it was really nice and went again and, honestly I didnt expect that behaviour from him. Others said that the letters were a good ending for the intervention after all the bad memories collected in the bus. It was a cure, and a way of giving forgiveness (BPSC 2, 2006) Conclusions were drawn that it helps to improve the coexistence in the neighbourhood. It generated a confident atmosphere, the reappropriation of public areas, decreased levels of social acceptance to
19

Mobile museum could then enter into all the differing areas that specific gangs controlled, in order to spread their message to everyone.

26

violence, recuperation of values, creation associations, amongst others (BPSC 1, 2006)

of

networks

and

Elite Hip hop [2002- to date]: Graffitour & Operation Hip Hop
Graffitour and Operation Hip Hop was initiated by young residents in the Comuna 13, through the movement Elite Hip Hop, supported by the local government. Comuna 13 is an informal settlement of Medellin, which has been considered in recent history, as the most affected area by the violence in the city. In 2002, the rural conflict between guerrillas and paramilitaries 20 entered to the area, and with it, the armed forces and police intervention. For a while, residents had to live their daily lives with constant violence in their neighbourhood and although the situation has improved, many legacies still remain.
Figure 22, 23, 24: Graffiti and Hip Hop in Comuna 13.

Elite Hip Hop is associated for its contribution to the social change in the area. They have encouraged and inspired younger residents to find in Popular Art, alternative options to move away from the worthless violence21 This social movement uses the Hip Hop culture 22 as a way of expression and through the following two events the voice of the youth has been hear by a wider public audience.

Operation Elite Hip Hop was the first Hip Hop

festival in the city launched in 2002. After 3 years the event took a more political perspective by renaming it: Revolution without deaths - believing that change is necessary but only possible through peace and dialogue. This
20 21

Extremist left and right wing terrorist groups. As one member said We are stealing people from the war For many Hip Hop is a refuge to their fears, a rescue from the drugs, but for others as me, it is the space where I found peace, love, dance and the songs I needed it to fulfill my heart (Youtube-1) 22 Hip hop, has always had a deep tradition in the informal settlements since the 1980s, characterized by rapping, Djing, hip hop dance and graffiti

27

event has been important because it allows other citizens to have a better understanding of the neighbourhoods reality and the local perceptions. Likewise, The graffitour, a proposal by Jeihhco and Quiceno23, show their beloved Comuna 13 in a three-hour walking tour taking in over 120 different pieces of graffiti, created by the young residents. It is a journey filled with stories, memories and symbolism. A walk that for them is "historical, aesthetic, and a little bit political" (Youtube 1). Although the graffiti is considered by some as an act of vandalism, these interventions have played a key role in determining a new image in areas where the qualitative characteristics of space were low. As Jke said when we paint a wall that was dark, we give it some light and a different notion of protection to the street (el colombiano, 2012) The main achievement is undoubtedly to bring new ideals to others living in similar circumstances in the city, and showing how young people can come together in order to feel united against the worthless violence. It has contributed to change the negative perception of the area and even has fostered a new kind of integration with the rest of the citizens by creating events for interaction. Since its start, this social movement has gained a position in the city, as important actors to overcome the existing conflict. Now, they are working together with other public artists and Cuenta la 13 24 to consolidate and expand their ideals within their neighbourhood and the city.

23 24

Hip Hop artist and graffiti artist, also members of Elite Hip Hop A local independent mass media communication supported by the main public university of the city, in which undergraduate students empower local residents to have a voice and express their perceptions about their neighbourhood and their situation in the city

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Tree of Life [2012- to date]

Tree of Life has recently been positioned as
the new symbol of the city. It represents the freedom and value for life, and symbolizes peace and reconciliation in the city. This 6.5 metre sculpture, created by the artist Leobardo Perez, consists of 82 bodies of men and women intertwined and growing together. It was built with 27,398 sharp weapons recently collected in a process of disarmament in Medellins neighbourhoods. This was the final result of a one week event, in which the municipality had motivated the participation of the citizens to search together for alternatives to prevent and overcome violence in the city. The initial idea emerged from the chief of the communitarian police, who gave the knives to the artist, in order to create a sculpture to shake peoples indifference (Suares, 2011). Before it was put on site, the sculpture was exhibited all in pieces in a symbolic ritual that attempted to raise public awareness. In this exhibition, other nine people left their weapons. We are aware that this doesnt solve the problem. However, it could create a seed for its prevention the artist words (Suares, 2011) Its location is in a remarkable site. It is placed in the Bicentenario park25, in front of the soon to be open Museum House of Memory and next to the entrance to the Comuna 8, where residents have also been victims of the conflict. The Museum House of Memory will be the main focal point where the victims are empowering to reconstruct the history of the city. From this nucleus, many community interventions are integrated. This includes the existing artistic and social practices in the neighbourhoods that are contributing to the reconstruction and the creation of a new identity (MCM, 2011).

Figure 25, 26, 27: Tree of Life - Complete sculpture - Symbolic rituals - Detail of the sculpture

25

A truly public space that commemorates Colombias 200 years of independence.

29

Findings of the case study

These Public Art interventions are evaluated here, not with the aim of undermining their value but as a constructive critique for future interventions. It is clear that these artworks are not simply pieces of art to beautify the city. They have a much more important purpose, as they are envisaged as a new source and model of participation, appropriation and reflection. In their processes, Elite Hip Hop seems to be far more transformative than the others. Some sources of research reflected that the making of art collectively, was in itself the engine of this social change. By creating music and graffiti, many young people have found an alternative, a tool of expression and a way of living and relating peacefully with others. Skin of memory also had a strong process by stimulating the integration of the participants and the recognition of others viewpoint. However, Tree of life avoided a participatory process, therefore limiting its potential impact. It is recognized that the work of the artist was relevant in portraying such a symbolic result, but this paper argues that a closer relationship between the artist and the public, and the involvement of citizens in its process, is fundamental for achieving a more transformative change. Artists do have a significant role in inspiring and integrating citizens through the practice of Art. This is evident in the work of Elite Hip Hop, where the long term commitment of its members and a direct interaction, has been essential in the mobilization of new citizens. Moving into the analysis of the final product, it is observed that all the examples offer different approaches. The final product in Skin of Memory was a short experience to a larger audience. It was a way to exorcise negative feelings by sharing their pain and hope, and by providing a common experience in a neutral space. The mobility of the Bus Museo and the neutral location of the second intervention was a clever strategy to allow the accessibility of all the residents. The recovery of memory is essential for any process of transformation. It offered a reflective experience at that time and a therapy to foster the reconciliation between citizens. However, the
30

complexity of the problem, the temporality of the work and the absence of real alternatives for the young people, made this intervention easy to forget. This situation hasnt occurred in Elite Hip Hop, as it is an ongoing project that has been able to build a social structure. This initiative started as an artistic activity in the community and due to the change that the authorities were promoting in the area, this group got inspired to take a more active role by using Art as a political instrument. In this case, art is in itself the alternative for the youth to move away from the violence, and this is the main difference compared to Skin of Life. As this practice emerged from the community level, it goes in tune with the cultural beliefs, taste and ideology of the residents, but also offers a flexibility and real commitment from the artists. Art in itself was the inspiration of change, a long term engagement and the motivation to integrate with others; also it has been left an imprint in the neighbourhood through the graffiti, creating a new local identity. It offers a transformative experience to the creators and participants, while changing other citizens perceptions. This example shows how from its very beginning - with the selection of an artist local authorities can stimulate greater and more intensive citizenship in all areas of society. Therefore, there is a challenge in recognizing and supporting existing genuine practices occurring from its civil society. On the other hand, Tree of life offers an experience through a powerful product full of meaning. It can be understood as the beginning of a new chapter in Medellins history, pointing out the new imaginary that the city is portraying. It is an artwork that touches everyone: the victims, criminals and the rest of society. These weapons are the testimony of an existing social situation. It reflects a better understanding that the problem of citizenship in the city, not only stems in the areas of conflict, but also in the indifference and passivity of the rest of the citizens. Many would say that this artwork doesnt solve anything by itself, and maybe this is true. However, it lights a new path by raising conscious awareness to the viewer through the recognition and visibility of all the victims (Calle, 2010). Its materialization, readability and strategic location make it
31

accessible for everybody. It is a symbol that in 10 or even 50 years time may still produce an impact in peoples mind. Besides, this example is special, for the overall project behind it and the current state of hope existing in the city. The city hasnt portrayed for a long time a new vision. Symbols such as Botero sculptures [symbolizing the artistic city], Coltejer building [symbolizing the entrepreneurial city] and Metrocable [symbolizing the informal city progress] have contributed with the creation of an identity in the city through time. However, Tree of life is very significant, because it touches everyone, by symbolizing the peace and reconciliation of the city as the main common goal. It refers to history to raise awareness, but also looks to the future by illustrating that it can be reached if all citizens come together. This being said, not all interventions need to follow this kind of approach, what is now required is the support of other micro-scale interventions and to consolidate a strong nucleus of action; open to search for new alternatives between the local authorities and society. If new forces of change are promoted from all areas of society this would enable the development of wider city scale social change. Therefore, Public Art can be considered the tool to enable the dialogue between civil society and state claimed by Habermas. The last two examples illustrate how the continuity of the intervention can be consolidated by a physical symbol and an experience that includes a long term formative process. However, Skin of Memory has been essential in the city, because it was the first intervention that showed the importance to reconstruct the memory of the city, and demonstrated that Public Art can be a practice to reconstruct its civil society (MDE11).

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CONCLUSION
"Art is a nation's most precious heritage, for it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves and to others the inner vision which guides us as a nation. And where there is no vision people shall perish." (Johnson, 1965) This paper has been concerned in exploring the extent of using Public Art as a practice to reinforce the citizenship institution. The previous exploration highlighted the potential of Public Art practice in offering processes and products at the service of society. Successful examples showed the variety of alternatives in which Public Art practice are able to contribute. They demonstrated that there is not one way of action, neither a unique response. Therefore its significance can not only be understood as a concrete agent of change, but also as a powerful tool of representation that influence peoples behaviour. This dual approach is ideal, if we take into the account that the contemporary problem of citizenship is not only framed by local dominant discourses and practices, but also highly influenced by the global economy, - expressed in the large margin of inequalities in developing cities - the lack of public interest and the more often alienation and individualism of citizens. These conditions have broken the existing social order in developing cities leading to the emergence of social conflicts and at some extent violence. Therefore, it seems clear that the reinforcement of citizenship can not only be framed on extending democracy and empowering oppressed individuals, but also in reconstructing the civil society, by bringing new ideals that promote values of trust, commitment and solidarity. The case of Medellin is an attempt to galvanize an alternative approach by opening citizens to the consideration of a new vision. The use of Public Art practices has been a strategy in tackling the urban violence, by empowering oppressed groups and promoting new values to integrate and regulate society. This case demonstrated that symbols and physical interventions on the city are essential in shaping its cultural identity; and also the provision of liberating

33

experiences in citizens everyday life can be the means of questioning the existing status quo. This paper concluded that these two working models are the perfect combination for any Public Art intervention in order to produce a real change. Liberating experiences open citizens to the consideration of a new vision assimilated by practice, while its physical symbolism is the image that will be kept in peoples mind, which will help recall the ideals behind it. These two elements are unique to the practice, but also as any other practice of development, an emphasis in the process of creation is also essential. Its process can be the mechanism for institutionalizing by practice, a democratic culture based on dialogue, deliberation and collective construction. It can be the means to empower other discourses, to develop new capabilities, to encourage a sense of belonging and/or to contest dominant forms of representation by building cultural structures of collective power. However, it is necessary to state that Public Art in itself doesnt mean anything; it is just a container to input meaning, an open process where power relations are exposed in the very beginning. This means, that Public Art: process and product can be a practice and a tool for advancing social change, or for feeding the culture with worthless ideas. We have to take into account that the production of art arises within and is subject to many of the same social, political, and economic pressures that affect its reception. Medellins films previously mentioned - are examples of the negative impact that Public Art could have in society. It implies that it is not just Public Art that matters. It is the visionary mind behind it; artists able to portrait a new vision in a creative and innovative way, and governments eager to initiate a direct dialogue "on the streets with the civil society. It seems clear that today more than ever, the challenge stems in bringing politics out of the state and position it into the public domain; in this sense Public Art can contribute! Art can do things that information cant. It takes our mind to new places, reaches our heart, and draws on our gut feelings (Platform, 2012).

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1, 2: The homeless Theatre Los Angeles Artist John Malpele (Source: Splash Magazine, 2011) Touch Sanitation. New York Artist Mierle Ukeless (Source: Splash Magazine, 2011) The Carbon Web. London Organization Platform (Source: Platform, 2012) Intervention in Bogot Mayor Mockus, administration (1995-1997) (Source: Montezuma, 2005) Domestic Violence. New Jersey Artist Peggy Digs (Source: Gablik, 1991) The End of the Line. Border Art workshop. USAMexico, Artist Guillermo Pea (Source: Lacy, 1995) The Great Wall of Los Angeles Artist Judith Baca (Source: Lacy, 1995) Sculptural Event Artist Christo and Jean Claude (Source: Picassomio, 2008) The Earth Ambulance Artist Helene Aylon (Source: Lacy, 1995)
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Figure 3, 4:

Figure 5, 6:

Figure 7, 8, 9:

Figure 10:

Figure 11:

Figure 12, 13:

Figure 14:

Figure 15:

Figure 16:

Medellins Collage (Illustrated by the author) Film Cover, Sumas y Restas Director Victor Gaviria (Source: Filmin, 1998) Typical informal settlement Comuna 13 Medellin (Source: Echeverry 2008) Metrocable & Library park. Comuna 13 Mayor Fajardo, administration (2003-2007) (Source: Echeverry 2008)

Figure 17:

Figure 18:

Figure 19, 20:

Figure 21, 22:

Bus Museo-Skin of Memory Artist Susan Lacy, Anthropologist Pilar Riao (Source: MDE11)

Figure 22, 23, 24: Graffitti and Hip Hop in Comuna 13 Artists Elite Hip Hop (Source: Flickr, Jenny Giraldo)

Figure 25, 26, 27: Tree of Life: Sculpture & Ritual Artist Leobardo Perez (Source: MCM, 2011)

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