Installation view: Agustina Woodgate "Hopscotch"

Recently, the UK-based organization Situations published a list online titled “The New Rules of Public Art.” The list offers 12 ways that public art has evolved over the last several decades. By moving beyond a reliance on monumental sculpture in a public plaza, for instance, art in public spaces challenges notions of how people interact with art, each other, and their communities. Our TC: temporary contemporary program has also exemplified a number of these new rules.

In particular, Rule 2 states, “[Public art]’s not forever.” This rule is a key tenet of our TC program. Instead of seeking to install art in public spaces indefinitely, TC seeks to activate places and communities by changing works that are on display continually. Since our section of Miami Beach is very pedestrian-friendly, members of the community are quite familiar with areas such as Collins Park and Ocean Drive. By installing new works throughout the year, we are able to change the way our community is viewed by its members. By the time people become used to seeing one work, a new work is installed, altering their previously held concepts of the community.

Another rule that is aligned with our TC program is Rule no. 6: “Demand more than fireworks.” While we recently presented a version of Olaf Breuning’s “Smoke Bombs,” (in conjunction with Art Basel’s Public sector) which consisted of large scaffolding with several colorful smoke pyrotechnics, many of our TC projects are not overtly flamboyant. For instance, our recent projects by Agustina Woodgate (“Hopscotch”) and Nayda Collazo-Llorens (“Pleasure, Fear and the Pursuit of Happiness”) were ground-based works that are unapparent from afar. However, these were among the most popular projects so far. These projects show that sometimes, seemingly understated works can have a powerful effect on a community and its members.