Art in the Public Realm

Art in the public realm seeks its own spaces within urban life, in public places and in the context of society's functions. With objects, installations and projects, it creates pause for thought in the everyday hustle and bustle of the city.

Due to the fact that it is visually accessible to a large proportion of the population, art in the public realm represents a means of making the city's space present in a unique way, and of activating it for public discussion. Artistic interventions in public spaces address the urban living environment and mobilize the city's users to join in the deliberations on issues of urban development and social processes.

Since 1994, a guideline for art in the public realm has been in force in Dresden, for the implementation of which the Kunstkommission der Landeshauptstadt Dresden is responsible. This art committee is reappointed every three years and is made up of artists, architects, art experts and representatives of the municipal council and administration, all of whom participate on a voluntary basis. At quarterly meetings, they decide on the appropriation of funds for the realization of projects, as well as on locations, the expectations placed on the artists and the initiation of competitions. A further important function is the development and realization of projects on the current supraregional scale.

In keeping with the guideline for art in the public realm, one percent of the municipal budget’s building construction costs are designated for the financing of art projects in the urban space. The guideline differs from other typical “Kunst am Bau” (site-specific art) programmes in that the funds are not bound to specific building projects or, accordingly to specific places, but can be applied to artistic undertakings anywhere in the city.

For many years the Kunstkommission has been actively advocating art in the urban realm, and it has realized a large number of successful projects with its efforts. These activities have not been limited to an upgrading of the respective locations merely from the formal-aesthetic point of view. The aim, rather, is to support artistic activities in the Dresden, the “city of art”, on a larger scale and create the means by which artworks can take effect at specific focal points within a social and cultural-historical context.

Information

Culture and Monument Preservation Office

---

Interactive City Map

Phone (0049) 351 488 8942
Fax (0049) 351 488 8923
email EMail

---

Postal address

Königstraße 15
01097 Dresden