A Public Square
April 2019–March 2020

A Public Square is a year-long programme that looks at how our physical spaces reflect or extend our ideas and attitudes about the public sphere.

Our foray into the public begins with the newly pedestrianised First Botanic Garden @ Armenian Street in front of The Substation. We can call this a public space—but what does it mean? Is it a park? A pedestrian corridor? An event space for pop-ups or festivals? Perhaps a public square? From July 2019 to March 2020, join us as we explore the claims, tensions, and contradictions to making a public space.

The Substation’s Guide to Making A Public Square

A step-by-step programme on how to develop your very own public space! Through the language and layers of parks and squares, the guide examines the process of creating a true space for the public—one welcoming to communities, and endowed with festivities for all to enjoy.

① Release a Masterplan highlighting the institution’s grand designs

#apublicsquare

② Inaugurate the space by naming what doesn’t actually belong to you

③ Activate the space by inviting communities to roost

④ Highlight the grey areas of “public” space by inviting alter-communities to permeate

⑤ Throw a sonorous party for the underground

July 2019:

BlackKajiXtra Nusasonic

⑥ Celebrate the “national” narrative to rally the masses

⑦ Drive community engagement initiatives to give invested citizens a voice

⑧ Now that everyone’s pleased, mobilise the masses for elections

September 2019:
Campaign Office [Cancelled]

⑨ Erect public art as evidence of creative and cultural vibrancy

⑩ Reinforce your grand narrative by referencing a historical event