VIRTUAL Lisbon Livable Cities

Abstract

This study uses Foucauldian discourse analysis to examine how public art commissioning operates within urban renewal projects in the City of Sydney. Drawing on Foucault’s concepts of power, knowledge, and subjectivity, the study identifies multiple commissioning pathways and reveals how institutional frameworks and individual agency co-produce the content and meaning of public art. The research is grounded in three case studies across different phases of urban renewal—Green Square Town Centre, Danks Street South Precinct, and the City Centre—and analyzes six public artworks commissioned by the City of Sydney in those sites. Data collection involved document analysis of policy and strategy frameworks and semi-structured interviews with artists, curators, and city officials. Rather than viewing public art solely as a cultural or aesthetic product, the paper positions it as a site of negotiation—where planning goals, artistic expression, and power relations converge. The findings show that commissioning models enable different modes of engagement, with artists alternately complying with, negotiating, or subtly subverting institutional constraints. These micro-level dynamics illustrate how public art becomes a discursive field where governance and creativity are constantly renegotiated. One key insight is the method’s ability to reveal how personal artistic interpretations serve as vehicles for experimentation— opening new avenues for expression, critical engagement, and knowledge production within public urban spaces. The paper offers insights for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners interested in the cultural politics of urban space.