The development, humanization and “reanimation” of public city space through artistic methods.

The speech will take place here : http://www.cisr.ru/index.en.html

Since the beginning of the 21st century, and thanks to authors like Richard Florida or John Howkins, the idea that creativity is fundamental to the success of a city has been widely accepted. However the implementation of this idea has taken many forms. The existence of a “creative class” creates a new situation for class war (especially seen in gentrification) while the results of creativity (such as night life, more extreme forms of art, political activism) are often not welcome to authorities. Cities want the creativity but at the same time desire to control it.

As Gerard de Lacaze-Duthiers wrote in 1935 “Between art and authority lies an abyss. They are representations of different worlds, diametrically opposed”.

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The tension between the individual and the collective is always present in filigrane in human society. The wealth of western society and its dependence on the State has generated a situation of excessive individualism, damaging the natural capacity for cooperation and creating a fractured world where all exchanges are monetarized.

The events of 2011 – Arab Spring, 15M, Occupy Movement – and those to come in 2012 –  are the tip of the iceberg of a widespread desire for a more collective way of thinking and living, rejecting huge imbalances of wealth and putting into practise other forms of social organisation and creation. Starting from the idea of the Commons – shared resources that are managed collectively – we will explore examples of initiatives coming from a variety of practises and areas of the world that put into practise strategies for change.

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