Changing Gellerup Park

Political Interventions and Aesthetic Engagement in an Exposed Social Housing Area in Denmark

Authors

  • Birgit Eriksson
  • Anne Mette W. Nielsen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/nja.v31i64.134221

Keywords:

Social housing areas, Danish ghetto act, art and cultural policies, public art projects, betterment agenda, political timing specific art

Abstract

Some low-income social housing neighborhoods are undergoing radical transformations in Denmark.  Classified as “ghettos” and “parallel societies,” and marked by area-specific legislation, we identify a triple exposure in these neighborhoods. The residents are exposed to inequality, stigmatization, and discriminatory inter-ventions. Parallel to this, cultural policies and programs have ap-proached these same neighborhoods based on the assumption that they can be “elevated” through art. Drawing upon a broader re-search in art project in four social housing areas (Eriksson, Nielsen, Sørensen and Yates, 2022), this article focuses on Gellerup Park in Aarhus and considers how two site-specific art platforms address the site and time-specific conditions of the area, offering alterna-tive relations and forms of engagement.

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Published

2022-10-10

How to Cite

Eriksson, B., & Nielsen, A. M. W. (2022). Changing Gellerup Park: Political Interventions and Aesthetic Engagement in an Exposed Social Housing Area in Denmark. The Nordic Journal of Aesthetics, 31(64). https://doi.org/10.7146/nja.v31i64.134221