VVZ API is not affiliated with ETH Zurich. Data might be outdated or incorrect. Please view the official ETHZ Vorlesungsverzeichnis for binding information.
Art in Public Space
Last Updated: 2026-06-01 11:30:29
Abstract
With artist Nina Emge and urban anthropologist Catherine Facerias, the course will investigate the development processes and realization of artworks installed in Zurich's public space. We will explore examples in order to analyze the historical and artistic context in which we move daily. We will meet people in charge of these art commissions: artists, architects, and members of the City Council.
Objective
Each session will introduce the participants to a specific art site in the city of Zürich. The site will be either an art work planned and executed for the public space, or a public or private building that hosts an art work meant for the premisses. For each site, we will meet with one agent or stakeholder involved in the production and installment of the art commission. These encounters will enable the participants to address and reflect on questions such as: - What is the temporality of art in the public space? - Who is in charge of the work's maintenance? - What differentiates art in the public space, memorials and public sculpture? - Who is the audience and who has a say? - How much space is dedicated to public art in the conception and design phase of a building?
Content
The main objective of this course is to offer a survey of the city of Zurich from an art perspective. The course will address a range of issues based on artistic topicality, through the analysis of specific case studies. Each case study will examine an art work, its location, its history, and the connections the art works makes or misses with its environment. Each site will allow the participants to analyze the art commission process, meet with the operators, go though their motivations, the underlying grounds and goals of the art project, and reflect on its achievements.
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- BSC
- Frequency
- Semesterly recurring
Examination
- Type
- ungraded semester performance
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| seminar |
Art in Public Space
No teaching on October 23 (Seminar Week) and during the last two weeks of the semester.
|
|
2 h weekly |