Author Description

"One of the burning themes of the twenty-first century is the urban question. The dynamic of cities is already causing dramatic changes in society and culture worldwide. The connection between art and city has not evolved very far yet, but will probably indicate a main course of action for artistic practice in the near future. cuidadMULTIPLEcity.Art>Panama 2003 constituted an important step in that direction. Artists of various countries were summoned to actively relate to the city,and struggle with its myriad seductions and pressing problems. This book (which includes a dvd on the event) exposes the ways in which the works involved the various urban communities and shed light upon art's potential to critically mediate and renovate the public domain. Beyond being the event's catalogue, this is also a book about Panama, a small global city even before globalization due to its geographic uniqueness. Multiple dynamics of fragmentation, hybridization and contrast have given the city its peculiar character. Another key section of this volume exposes the drastic and often traumatic consequences of urban and global development of postmodern Latin American cities, and the peripheries in general."--book jacket.