The movements of our bodies through cities and space carry with them pivotal social, political, and cultural potentials. Despite the typical association of bodily movement with the everyday and the seemingly mundane; when considered at length, our ability (or inability) to move through space offers us the ability to transform from bystanders, into witnesses and activators of our cities.
Rights of Way, The Body as Witness in Public Space takes our bodily movements as a departure point to cross into the terrains of art, culture, architecture, sociology, literature, and politics, to envision varied forms of witnessing, and apply them to our direct environments. When many must still campaign to claim their stake in the public realm; when hate crimes and acts of institutional violence persist in the public sphere; when cities continue to grapple with the effects of mass surveillance, precarious citizenship, widespread gentrification, and divisive body politics, we seek to question, challenge, and re-envision who have the rights of way.
This publication comprises a collection of essays, interviews, texts, and images from a range of artists, researchers, academics, architects, and historians. Together, the contributions question our positions of access and in-access in space, and, in doing so, orchestrate the act of witnessing as a vital component in providing meaning to our cities.
Rights of Way, The Body as Witness in Public Space takes our bodily movements as a departure point to cross into the terrains of art, culture, architecture, sociology, literature, and politics, to envision varied forms of witnessing, and apply them to our direct environments. When many must still campaign to claim their stake in the public realm; when hate crimes and acts of institutional violence persist in the public sphere; when cities continue to grapple with the effects of mass surveillance, precarious citizenship, widespread gentrification, and divisive body politics, we seek to question, challenge, and re-envision who have the rights of way.
This publication comprises a collection of essays, interviews, texts, and images from a range of artists, researchers, academics, architects, and historians. Together, the contributions question our positions of access and in-access in space, and, in doing so, orchestrate the act of witnessing as a vital component in providing meaning to our cities.
With contributions from: Pauline Agustoni, Elia Castino, The Dazzle Club, Shannon Finnegan, Kevin Gotkin, Annee Grøtte Viken, Amy Gowen, Christa-Maria Lerm-Hayes, Corinne Heyrman, Paoletta Holst, Rahma Khazam, Alessandro Marchi, Jeannette Petrik & Soeria van den Wijngaard.
