Please rotate your device to landscape mode to view the charts.

Public art tourism: atmospheric stories in city margins

Journal: Annals of Tourism Research

Date: 2023

Author: Hilary Downey, John F. Sherry Jr.

Abstract:
Cities play a pivotal role in progressing cultural tourism, embracing everyday life, where particular cityscapes afford a diversity of cultural practices. The ethnographic storying of two city public artworks presents a backcloth of historical, cultural and religio-political outlooks. Public art and idiosyncratic atmospherics provide conflicting narratives of how pubic art attends wider religion-tourism concerns. Both public artworks observe ‘together-apart’ imaginings of a past-present legacy. This study traces their effect, through researcher short vignettes, visual culture and poetic reflection. This study contributes to the religion-tourism nexus, drawing on political, cultural, religious and social perspectives, which underpin these urban tourism sites. Public art has to make sense, have cultural competence and resonate with citizens.

Link: Google Scholar

Background and Context

Research Focus

Ethnographic study of two public art sites in Northern Ireland cities, exploring how they create distinctive atmospheric experiences for visitors.

Cultural Setting

Belfast and Derry have complex histories of religious-political division, where public art reflects and shapes cultural identities.

Methodology

The researchers employed field notes, interviews, photography, videography, and poetic inquiry over the period 2012-2019.

Contrasting Approaches to Public Art in Post-Conflict Cities

Belfast Murals Permanent Divisive Political Identity Maintains Separation Tourist Attraction Derry Temple Temporary Unifying Shared Trauma Promotes Healing Community Ritual
  • Belfast murals reflect and reinforce community division through political and religious imagery.
  • The Derry Temple provided a shared space for healing across religious and political divides.
  • Both art forms address troubled pasts but with fundamentally different approaches to community relations.

Emotional Journey of Public Art Visitors

Curiosity Discomfort Understanding Sharing Catharsis Belfast Murals Derry Temple
  • Researchers identified idiosyncratic atmospherics creating distinct emotional journeys for visitors at each site.
  • Belfast murals often provoke initial discomfort before leading to understanding of complex social divisions.
  • The Temple created opportunities for emotional sharing and collective catharsis through personal expressions.

Types of Emotional Expressions at the Temple

Personal Messages Photographs Handcrafted Objects Poems & Letters
  • The Temple installation attracted over 60,000 visitors who contributed personal expressions of trauma and hope.
  • Physical objects and written messages created a powerful collective tapestry of community experience.
  • Cross-community participation broke traditional sectarian boundaries, allowing shared emotional expression previously impossible.

Public Art as a Bridge Between Divided Communities

Unionist Nationalist Public Art Shared Future
  • Public art can function as a bridge between politically and religiously divided communities.
  • The Temple's design intentionally avoided traditional sectarian symbols to create a neutral space.
  • Shared experiences around public art can foster movement toward reconciliation and a common future.

The Process of Community Transformation Through Public Art

Trauma Expression Sharing Collective Ritual Healing Public Art as Facilitator
  • The Temple demonstrated a transformative process from individual trauma to collective healing through public art.
  • The burning ritual of the Temple symbolized release and transformation, essential for collective healing.
  • Public art facilitated each step of this process by creating a safe space for emotional expression.

Contribution and Implications

  • Public art can either reinforce division or promote healing in post-conflict societies, depending on its design.
  • The tourism-religion nexus provides a framework for understanding complex cultural and political expressions in public spaces.
  • Effective public art must make sense to citizens, have cultural competence, and resonate with local communities.
  • Temporary installations like the Temple offer unique opportunities for transformative experiences not possible with permanent art.
  • The study demonstrates new methodological approaches combining ethnography with poetic inquiry for tourism research.

Data Sources

  • All visualizations were created based on the ethnographic data collected between 2012-2019 in Belfast and Derry.
  • Information about the Belfast murals comes from field observations, interviews, and black taxi tours documented in Idiosyncratic Atmospherics 1.
  • Data on the Temple is derived from the researchers' observations and participant interviews during the Temple build and burn in Derry.
  • Emotional journey mapping is based on researcher field notes, interviews, and poetic reflections from both sites.
  • The transformation process visualization synthesizes findings about community healing described throughout the paper.