Eighteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

Public art, including sculptures and monuments, represents communities’ identities, values, and history. Public spaces are essential to urban and rural communities, offering social interaction, leisure, and recreation opportunities. However, the voices and perspectives of children, particularly children from marginalised communities, are often overlooked in public art and urban planning decisions despite their significant presence in public spaces. This paper explores children’s preferences for sculptures and monuments in public spaces and how public art can represent their identities and experiences. A participatory research approach is used, involving children as active participants in the research process. Children are asked to create their sculptures or monuments using different materials and visit public spaces to take pictures of sculptures or monuments that they find interesting and explain why. Data collected through interviews and focus groups with the children is used. The analysis focuses on identifying the types of sculptures and monuments that children prefer and how public art can represent their identities and experiences. The findings of this research can inform decision-making processes about public art and contribute to the representation of children’s experiences and identities in public spaces, thus deconstructing power relations between group ages. This research contributes to the broader field of educational justice and sustainable peace, recognising the role of public art in promoting social and cultural inclusion in communities.