Artistic and Curatorial Power in Cities’ Historic Spaces

Abstract

This article analyses and compares three neighbourhood/site projects in Athens, Salerno and Sunderland. Despite being on a small scale, they trigger vitality and revive spaces that invite creative uses. These examples have the aim to involve local residents and artists in creating public places and claim their right to oppose top-down impositions and globalization of cultural consumption returning decision-making power to the local communities. The ambition is that small artwork interventions can gradually propose meaningful transformations in a wider perspective.