“Harbour City” is a term that characterizes and that is a brand at the same time. It describes geographic circumstances and the notion of cosmopolitanism. Harbour cities have long been formed by industrialization, shaped by international trade and are constantly confronted with the untamed power of the ocean and the wind. As the industrial zones of business harbours are moving out of city centers to the outskirts of towns, prime waterfront areas are opening up for the development of commercial, business, residential, and leisure spaces. It is about the revitalization of entire districts, a constant restructuring of city life, rejuvenating individual and community engagement with and within the urban environment, or in short: Reinventing Harbour Cities.

Against the background of the development in Reykjavík – with its major projects at the old harbour, the area of the domestic airport, the changes of the city center and its suburban expansion – the conference aimed to assemble knowledge from various high-ranking, international professionals from different fields dealing with the issue at hand to take up and take part in a global discussion. Of course this conversation in part involves architecture, but as important as that is addressing the public sphere in general. In talking about shaping public space we are entering a field of social responsibility.

Public space is always political space with its tension of private and public interests. Art in public space – as “art and architecture” (the German term “Kunst am Bau” is more suitable) or as temporary or permanent interventions – is very important for city life and a self-understanding of its inhabitants, as well as an integral part of contemporary urban planning. The spectrum of artistic practice represented by the term “public art” encompasses art commissioned as a response to the notion of place, art commissioned as part of the designed environment, and process-based artistic practice that does not rely on the production of art objects. Culture – and public art is only a small part of its definition – also plays an important role in city branding.

The international competition between cities is intense and rules today’s development of urbanity. It is a competition about attractiveness, about global investors and tourists. Without doubt a strong city brand is a potent weapon to maximize the visibility of a city’s qualities. Culture, in the widest sense, is a mainstay for a successful participation in this global competition. One does not even have to refer to the extreme of Dubai, where cities are developed from scratch with the involvement of potent international partners such as the Louvre and the Guggenheim. Art and culture are influenced by international star architects and locally-embedded visual artists; newly built concert houses and museums are emergent landmarks, parks and squares have become the stages for various art forms and performances, and all are important links to the social life of inhabitants and visitors alike. Art is a key tool in creating an optimistic, future-oriented and open-minded identity.

This international conference aims to open a discussion by focusing on urban development and the role of art in the public spaces of harbour cities. The development, privatization, and changing identities of cities that have grown as a result of their seaside locations present critical challenges for urban planners as well as for artists living and working within these cities. As private companies and investors have increasing power in terms of reinventing urban landscapes both physically and culturally, this presents a crucial opportunity for artists to reconsider their own potential to help shape public space.

The conference opened with two keynote speakers on April 25: Christopher Marcinkoski from field operations in New York, one of the world’s leading-edge landscape architecture and urban design firms, and the artist Ólafur Elíasson.

The second part on May 10 introduced case studies from various cities: Urban design projects of Gehl architects, Copenhagen and West 8, Rotterdam were presented. The CEO from Hamburg HafenCity, Jürgen Bruns-Berentelg, reported on his major development project from an administrative perspective. Vito Acconci, whose work developed from body-related art into design and architecture, introduced his approach, and Yvonne P. Doderer as well as the British art collective Freee discussed the role of art in public space.