The exhibition “Sharing space(s)” deals with the supposed democracy of the public sphere and starts from the exhibition space itself. The conceptual pair Shared Spacestands for a planning philosophy that was originally developed in the Netherlands in the 1990s. The aim of the model is to make the public road space more liveable and equal for all participants. But what actually constitutes a public space? Since ancient times, urbanity and democracy have been inextricably linked. Urban public space goes back to the Attic democracy in the 5th century BC and is still a model for democratic societies today. But is the model of the ancient meeting place still relevant today? Public space seems to have become much more of a political field of tension and its use and shape will have to be renegotiated in the future. The first question to be asked is whether all people have access to public places at all, can they influence and help shape it? One thing is certain: it is a democratic achievement and can only be maintained through a culture of mindfulness, tolerance and enlightenment.
Find the whole article here: https://curatingthecontemporary.org/2019/02/19/how-far-is-utopia/