Understanding the complex relationship between the arts and the city has long been of concern to researchers from a range of disciplines. Some have focused on urban redevelopment and placemaking and others have emphasized the economic benefits of the arts’ perceived contributions to the “triple bottom line.” In contrast, work foregrounding issues of access and equity have problematized such claims, often through examinations of exploitation, spatial segregation, and poor working conditions. Probing such multifaceted debates and their intersections, this special issue brings together scholars from different disciplines who draw on case studies from geographical settings as artistically, socially, and politically diverse as the United States, Australia, Italy, Kazakhstan, France, Germany, Spain, and China. By examining how cities around the world have used the arts both overtly and more subtly, these articles grapple with concerns at the cutting edge of the field.
Demonstrated is the importance of combining theoretical and disciplinary perspectives and of taking a long-term and dynamic view of the incorporation of the people, organizations, and spaces of art into city building. What is clear is that art in urban space is contested terrain, which can challenge the central tenets of urban and cultural policy and planning. Published at an inflection point in the study of art and the city, this special issue responds to contemporary trends and draws on the insights of decades of scholarship and practice to interrogate issues that will be central to an interdisciplinary research agenda for years to come.