Reclaiming territories through trans-disciplinary collaborative art practices

This project, a thesis incorporating a 41,357 word textual commentary and related documentation of artwork, demonstrates and critically reflects upon a collaborative method of artmaking that addresses the following questions: Is it possible to reclaim communal space using trans-disciplinary art intervention and provide access for alternative contributors? How can temporary participatory art be used as an intervention into urban space and offer new forms of interactivity, engagement and critical awareness? These questions were addressed by critical reflection upon the development and outcomes of two projects that took place in Durban, South Africa and Turku, Finland. These cities were sites of global events, namely the FIFA World Cup in Durban, 2010, and the European Capital of Culture in 2011. These events and their branding facilitate unique forms of capital accumulation. I suggest that intervention at the site of these events is important in order to reclaim a temporary communal space for creative and critical inquiry. The artworks that I produced were temporary, site-specific urban interventions in public space using the insides and outsides of key buildings. The Durban projects were Street Child World Cup and Body Politic and, in Turku, Pallomeri and Meri Valvoo. The projects offered representation in public space in Durban for street children and, in Turku, experimental forms of engagement for the wider public. I argue that my method of participatory practice has wide-ranging potential for use by creative/scientific collaborations as an ethical/aesthetic model of temporary collaborative working. It effectively addresses problems around critical and creative access to urban public spaces outside of marketing/consumer discourses.