Downtown Spaces as Public Pedagogy
"Public pedagogy is cultural practice that produces influential social narratives. Public pedagogy surrounds us, easily absorbed like breathing polluted air unless it is problematized through intervention and through critical participation in creating public pedagogy."
-- Sara Wilson McKay & Karen Keifer-Boyd
Steal this Sign: A Semiotic Expedition into Dynamite Museum's Public Pedagogy (2004)
Since moving to Shreveport, I have become more intrigued by
the downtown. Magnificent old buildings, hollow from years of neglect reside along side modern
towering giants that seem to mock these old timers.
Surveying the landscape, I am
also baffled by the lack of life, especially night-life, in this area. No one
lives down here. No one shops down here (there are not many retail spaces). With very few places to dine, no one eats down here (except business men and women). Only an independent theater (to which we belong) with
a chic bistro that offers a superb culinary experience (and adult beverages for
the movie) serves those eager to frequent the downtown after hours.
While downtown Shreveport is rarely bustling with life outside of
business hours, it houses some of the cities most beautiful pieces of art. Over
the past decade, local and guest artists have begun to revitalize the
appearance of a once neglected downtown. Their efforts have publicized and
advocated for the revitalization of these spaces and many members of the
community. The city has joined in the effort to restore and repurpose abandoned and dilapidating buildings. With the set goal of repurposing and restoring historic buildings, creating and animating public spaces, and safeguarding the authentic cultural significance of the downtown area, the community has slowly turned these common spaces into "Unscene" Shreveport. The life of the downtown is both vibrant and often unseen. As the members of the surrounding community weave their own narratives into the existing story of downtown, the city becomes alive with possibilities for interpretations of space.
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| This is an image of the December 2013 Unscene Project in which members of the community lined up to have their picture taken in a photobooth. Afterward the images were blown up and displayed on the exterior of this building. |
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| “Rolie Polie Olie” by Mike Dean and William Joyce |
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| “Let The Good Times Roll” by Don Alexander, Designer Tama Ripps Nathan |
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| The West Edge Mural Project 2001By Bill Scott, Walter Washington, Willie George Jr., and John Will Young
As a place of public pedagogy, the Shreveport downtown art spaces illustrate how the city of Shreveport and its officials desire the residents and visitors to view and participate within the space. Additionally, they reveal the intended purpose of the art and how it functions as an indicator of growth, change, and revitalization. By enlisting the help of locals, artists and artisans, these artworks signify the culture and heritage of the city and its inhabitants, illustrate the past, and look toward the future as groups are brought together under the purpose of injecting life back into this area of the community.
Resources:
Wilson McKay, S., & Keifer-Boyd, K. (2004). Steal this sign: A semiotic expedition into Dynamite Museum's public pedagogy.
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