Art in public: Potential public pedagogy post-pandemic

This article speculates how art in public space might evolve in a COVID-19 world. We examine the complexity embedded within the realm of public space using two public art projects as case studies: an artwork produced as part of an artist residency inside the Parliament of Western Australia and a public artwork commission for a highway interchange at Wanneroo, Western Australia. Both projects are used as examples to speculate on how we might navigate the complexity and possibilities for art in public as a consequence of a refiguration of such public spaces resulting from COVID-19 prevention measures. This article postulates how both projects inform the public pedagogy of alternate venues and the efficacy of art in intervening in often closed spaces to offer altered experiences to existing structures. We then focus on what public art is, does and who the traditional audiences have been and why, questioning the efficacy of this art form. Expectations are then scrutinized, concluding that tools for assessment, while available, are rarely employed.