public art experience

project

context belval / manifesto / strategy

context belval

The Belval project, and the City of Science in particular, aim to be a model project of urban redevelopment. This ambition extends to the cultural development of the site. As a public contracting authority, Fonds Belval is under the obligation to invest in art according to the terms of the Law of 30 July 1999. The sums dedicated to art are budgeted in relation to the investments generated by the architectural project and are considerable.

The public art project devised for Belval is based on two fundamental premises:

Firstly, public art must contribute to shaping the public debate on mankind and its future, on the current state of the world and its potential developments. It must be controversial, initiate social debate and shed new light on issues on which the interests of society and individuals are in conflict.

Secondly, public art must be useful for the community by helping to generate social values and shape its cultural identity. Public art must not be misused for commercial purposes but generate its own values to benefit the community.
The City of Science offers a unique opportunity to develop a public art project in line with these principles by actively engaging with artists and the public and by embracing an approach firmly rooted in the history of a given place and era. The artistic project for the City of Science will therefore follow an approach focusing on continuous action in a constantly changing social and cultural context and aiming to shape the cultural identity of the community. Called ‘Public Art Experience’, it aims to reconnect art and society by centring the debate on clearly defined subjects while giving artists the possibility to express themselves freely by contributing their individual perspectives.