The Role of Public Art in Urban Environment Development

Author(s)

Ntabanganyimana Timothee ,

Download Full PDF Pages: 56-61 | Views: 304 | Downloads: 87 | DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6408426

Volume 11 - March 2022 (03)

Abstract

With the integration of global economy, the urbanization process in Rwanda develops rapidly. It appears particularly important to build city image. As manifestation of city characteristics, it reflects spiritual outlook of a city.  Public art has participated in the process of transforming the aesthetics and symbolic meanings of civic centers across the country, even though for the most part its creative potential has been curtailed by the priority of urban planning and architecture as shapers of civic space. This research study discusses the role of public art in influencing urban environments in Rwanda, specifically within Kigali Cultural Village. The study explores the extent to which such an approach can raise local communities’ environmental awareness as an indirect input to the process of upgrading the desires of those living in these areas and of international tourists. In addition, it reviews the experiences of different types of catalysts for regeneration, such as art and culture that can enhance the built environment’s recognition, value, and economic growth. A qualitative evaluation is employed for this research study, which leverages subjective methods such as, consulting research papers and articles, interviews and observations to collect substantive and relevant data while examining the interaction of connectivity, attraction, and development as they relate to economics and other complex aspects of development. The findings reveal the main advantages of introducing public art to an urban space, namely in regard to acceptance, culture, and social behavior. In addition, the study helps identify new ways to use public art to enhance public interactions and participation in new urban environments development.

Keywords

Public art, urban, environment, development

References

      i.        Doris C. Freedman. Art and urban regeneration in New York City. 2021

ii.      Doug Sandle. Public Art and City Identity. Political and cultural issues in the development of public art in the UK city of Leeds. Nr, 2 February 2000

iii.    Jonathan Vickery, March 2012, Public Art and the Art of the Public after the Creative City

iv.     High Commission of The Republic of Rwanda Singapore, 05 September 2019(https://rwandagateway.com/o/kigali-cultural-village)

v.       Maryam Al Suwaidi, Raffaello Furlan, The Role of Public Art and Culture in New Urban Development: The Case of Katara Cultural Village in Qatar

vi.     Jie Wu, Nantong University, Nantong, China, 2016, Research on the Influence of Public Art on City Image

vii.     Iwona Jażdżewska, Murals as a Tourist Attraction in a Post-Industrial City. A Case study of Łódź (Poland), 2017

viii.   Miwon Kwon, Public art and Urban Identities, 2015

ix.     Wu Shangchun, Research on Public Art in Modern Urban Environment, 2006

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