Art in the Urban Sphere _ Writing Sample by Nakshi shah

“The art of the past no longer exists as it once did. Its authority is lost. In its place, there is a language of images. What matters now is who uses that language for what purpose.” (Berger 1972, 33) Museums have been experiencing a radical change over the past two decades. Their values have been unsettled with the introduction of newer means of cultural production. Though they have shifted their focus into more diverse and dynamic programming that can attract more museum-goers, reshaping these institutions has been difficult and has met with criticism and resistance. Art, in its broadest sense, is a form of expression and can take on diverse meanings as it takes on different settings. The inclusion of ephemeral, performance and process-based art has been apparent in recent years, bridging the aesthetic and the social. There have always been alternate and appropriate ways to showcase art outside of the traditional convention, and the very acceptance of these forms will allow artists to communicate and establish a dialogue with wider audiences within unconventional surroundings. Being situated in the real world, art intensifies one's experiences by engagement through play, exploration and performance with moments of serendipity and surprise. It places the audience at the centre of the field and gives them an active role that heightens their perception, appreciation and experience of the urban sphere. Acting as the catalyst for social change, many cities have used art to make their public spaces more inviting. Art is a state of encounter (Bourriaud 2002, 18), advocating alternative perspectives and establishing a sense of shared identity and civic pride within citizens. It fosters social cohesion and an improved understanding of the plurality of cultures. Cities often have leaned upon art or culture-led regeneration to activate spaces and voids enabling a safe secure environment to preserve histories and increasing mobility in disregarded parts of the city. Moreover, art in public space is not determined by the same premises as in museums or exhibition rooms. They have suffered from one-dimensionality, object orientedness, permanence and exclusiveness but with a more recent consciousness and introduction of concepts like temporality, flexibility, collaboration and inclusiveness, art can be perpetuated not just as an aesthetic but a didactic practice. Architecture is often defined as “Baukunst”, which means the art of building or building as an art form. However, Architecture has become an impersonal container of art and with its conventional routines and lack of transformation, it has failed to give art, specificity and context. Understanding why certain architectural forms or organisations are chosen over others or what logic drives them can help us make informed decisions. Architectural decisions for art should be based on collaborative values that allow the building to communicate. From choosing a distinctive location to unconventional curatorial approaches, the architecture should allow artists to use diverse strategies that can guide the audience into ways of seeing, appreciating the artwork and its structural embodiment. My research addresses the integration of art and architecture into everyday life, where each artist can build and structurally curate an experience they want to deliver to their audience. Architecture then becomes a vessel of deliberation and reflection, reframing existing situations and actualising a space that is open, fluid, meandering in and out of social,