The Function Of Public Art For Regeneration Is To Sex-Up The Control Of The Under-Classes

Text/poster/photograph, 2005

Location: Roding Road, Homerton High Street, Hackney, London. August 2005. Commissioned by B+B for Real Estate: Art in a Changing City, an exhibition curated by B+B. Part of London in Six Easy Steps at the ICA, 23–28 August, 2005.

A text work sited on a billboard in East London during Real Estate, The Function Of Public Art For Regeneration... is a work concerned with the way in which culture-led urban regeneration is advocated within regeneration strategies. Regeneration aims to change the 'mindset' and 'behaviour' (Landry, C., ‘The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators’, London: Earthscan, 2000) of residents, to improve their effectiveness in creating capital and growth in order to reduce what is seen as a dependency on state provision. Whereas the need for change in terms of social justice and parity is necessary, the methods and motivation of these cultural policies, particularly the roles assigned to art and culture within them, need to be examined. This work is a continuation of a series of text works entitled The Three Functions that discuss the functionality of public art.

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