Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 01/09/2025

Home

describes this symbolic action as a type of substance that involves communication representative of the strategy as well as connected to the place story(Anholt 2008). Similarly, Bianchini and Ghilardi (2007) argue that place branding efforts must be creatively responsive to the local culture. They note five key ways in which culturally sensitive branding is applied: (1) cross fertilization of ideas between professional disciplines, (2) new creative approaches, (3) more critical evaluation, (4) more responsiveness to community input, and (5) greater cultural sensitivity. Incorporating the richness of the underlying culture is an essential part in placemaking and public art that is consistent with the local brand. Art used in placemaking is another external expression of the underlying culture, much like local festivals, parades, public open space, and historic landmarks. Bianchni and Ghilardi also introduce the concept of`mindscape,' described as the space between the underlying imagination that people have about a place and the place itself(Bianchni and Ghilardi, 2007). Likewise, Fleming describes the unique characteristics of `place'that come from effectively harnessing the communities `mental associations into a sustainable narrative' (Fleming, 2007). This underlying story of the community manifests itself in the physical planning of the community, and may also impact what kind of public art strategy is developed. Public art plays a role in defining the uniqueness of place by capturing the authentic meaning of a place through the interpretation of its collective cultural and historical memory. The establishment of place, therefore, refers to an emotional attachment that goes beyond both the physical and sensory properties of a particular place. Public art serves the role of being able to link those currently living in a particular place with its cultural and historical past, as well as to explore the current social and psychological conditions of the community. This role differentiates place making art installations from the 60