Unfolding the art city – using public art in place branding
Cassinger, Cecilia LU
and Ledendal, Marie
LU
(2023)
The Annual Conference of the International Place Branding Association
- Abstract
- The research aim in this paper is to unfold the concept of the art city by examining how it emerges in local processes and sites. In particular, we are interested in how city brand narratives are artified to legitimise, authenticate and spatially organize an urban place as an art attraction for consumption and spectatorship. The paper introduces the concept of artification as a novel way of understanding how a city brand becomes associated with the arts and earns a place in the art world.
The study adopts a qualitative approach to capture the artification process. The empirical material was collected by means of semi-structured interviews with managers of art initiatives and in art organizations in Borås during autumn 2019 and... (More) - The research aim in this paper is to unfold the concept of the art city by examining how it emerges in local processes and sites. In particular, we are interested in how city brand narratives are artified to legitimise, authenticate and spatially organize an urban place as an art attraction for consumption and spectatorship. The paper introduces the concept of artification as a novel way of understanding how a city brand becomes associated with the arts and earns a place in the art world.
The study adopts a qualitative approach to capture the artification process. The empirical material was collected by means of semi-structured interviews with managers of art initiatives and in art organizations in Borås during autumn 2019 and spring 2020. Moreover, the empirical material was collected via a document study of Borås city branding strategy, news articles about art-works in the city, and promotional materials of the ‘City as an Art Gallery’ produced by the local DMO.
Findings show the specificities of local artification processes behind the label of the art city.
The findings consist of three strategies through which the art city is awarded legitimacy, authenticity, and attractivity. The paper goes behind the veneer of the art city by showing the process whereby a city brand is artified. While the city as an art gallery approach was seen as successful by participants in our study, there are drawbacks of such art-based strategies. An obvious drawback concerns the lack of diversity and inclusion in the selection of the artworks and artists and making of art and attraction spaces, which leads to a one-dimensional public space. Artification of a city brand is a top-down process, which limits the possibilities of initiating social change responsive to the needs of the local community. Place branding practitioners should therefore encourage bottom-up spontaneous art initiatives and a diversified repertoire of public artworks.
(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/65b6054e-bbb1-465f-a1e4-a62df4247d65
- author
- Cassinger, Cecilia
LU
and Ledendal, Marie
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- city branding, brand identity, public art, monuments, artification
- conference name
- The Annual Conference of the International Place Branding Association
- conference location
- Helsingborg, Sweden
- conference dates
- 2023-10-18 - 2023-10-20
- project
- Konst för en stad i förändring - de offentliga gestaltningarnas betydelse för social hållbarhet
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 65b6054e-bbb1-465f-a1e4-a62df4247d65
- alternative location
- https://placebranding.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IPBA-2023_Book-of-abstracts.pdf
- date added to LUP
- 2023-10-07 14:13:13
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 14:33:34
@misc{65b6054e-bbb1-465f-a1e4-a62df4247d65,
abstract = {{The research aim in this paper is to unfold the concept of the art city by examining how it emerges in local processes and sites. In particular, we are interested in how city brand narratives are artified to legitimise, authenticate and spatially organize an urban place as an art attraction for consumption and spectatorship. The paper introduces the concept of artification as a novel way of understanding how a city brand becomes associated with the arts and earns a place in the art world.<br/><br/>The study adopts a qualitative approach to capture the artification process. The empirical material was collected by means of semi-structured interviews with managers of art initiatives and in art organizations in Borås during autumn 2019 and spring 2020. Moreover, the empirical material was collected via a document study of Borås city branding strategy, news articles about art-works in the city, and promotional materials of the ‘City as an Art Gallery’ produced by the local DMO.<br/>Findings show the specificities of local artification processes behind the label of the art city. <br/><br/>The findings consist of three strategies through which the art city is awarded legitimacy, authenticity, and attractivity. The paper goes behind the veneer of the art city by showing the process whereby a city brand is artified. While the city as an art gallery approach was seen as successful by participants in our study, there are drawbacks of such art-based strategies. An obvious drawback concerns the lack of diversity and inclusion in the selection of the artworks and artists and making of art and attraction spaces, which leads to a one-dimensional public space. Artification of a city brand is a top-down process, which limits the possibilities of initiating social change responsive to the needs of the local community. Place branding practitioners should therefore encourage bottom-up spontaneous art initiatives and a diversified repertoire of public artworks.<br/><br/><br/>}},
author = {{Cassinger, Cecilia and Ledendal, Marie}},
keywords = {{city branding; brand identity; public art; monuments; artification}},
language = {{eng}},
title = {{Unfolding the art city – using public art in place branding}},
url = {{https://placebranding.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IPBA-2023_Book-of-abstracts.pdf}},
year = {{2023}},
}