| Abstract |
Although smart cities initially focused on technological solutions to urban challenges, the field increasingly includes social and humanistic perspectives of urban citizenship. As a consequence, and by introducing artistic counterculture into the smart city discourse, this chapter looks at the artistic city and tests possible connections (or disconnections) between ‘smart’ and ‘art’. Inspired by Stavanger’s incorporation of art into their smart city strategy, we use this chapter to speculate on the wider potential to ‘artify’ smart city policies, testing how smart art connections stand up to a streetwise ethos. This is both a critique of ‘artwashing’ within the smart city discourse as well as a recognition of ‘smart’ ideologies being integral to established artistic processes. Such an obvious ambivalence is meant to guide and provoke, illustrate activism and resistance, and carve out a representative space for the arts within the smart city. Based on categoric presumptions – manifesto-style – of what smart represents in the artistic city, our argumentation is meant to reveal hidden knowledge, show creative solutions, and highlight transferable values. With a focus on creative problem solving, we exemplify by referring to a specific musical case study – Hugs and Bugs by Block Ensemble – a piece founded on global artistic sharing cultures. © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Barbara Maria Sageidet, Daniela Müller-Eie, and Kristiane M.F. Lindland; individual chapters, the contributors. |
