Being Public

Being Public is an anthology of essays investigating, from different perspectives, the notion of ‘public’. ‘Public’ is one of the most issued categories in current debates on culture, yet the notion itself remains largely un-reflected. The meaning of both ‘art publics’ and ‘public space’ have become complex in a time where boundaries between public and private are shifting, and where ‘the public’ actually comprises different groups of changing composition and identity. What does it mean to be public today? And what is the role of art in constituting both ‘public space’ as well as ‘a public’? Taking these questions as a starting point, the book aims to create a better understanding of the relationships between art and the notion of the public.

Contributors: Barbara Alves, Jeroen Boomgaard, Rogier Brom, Anke Coumans, Florian Cramer, Eva Fotiadi, Maaike Lauwaert, Gabriel Lester, Steven ten Thije

New Valiz series ‘MAKING PUBLIC’
The series ‘Making Public’ investigates ‘the public’, the civil domain where space, knowledge, values and commodities are shared. What does this notion of ‘public’ mean? How does this domain change under the influence of social, political and technological tendencies? Where are the boundaries of ‘the public’ and how are they determined? What interests are involved in this? What forms of responsibility and solidarity does ‘the public’ invoke? And how do artists and culture critics shape the debate on these issues?

The book Being Public is now available at the online shop op Valiz.