Inderdependencies: Civic Art, Urban Development, and the Public in Zurich

Presentation of the Project Semester Works MAS ETH GTA 2024. Students present nine case studies and discuss with guests.

Friday, May 31, 10 AM - 2 PM
Location: Pauluskirche, Tower Room, 3rd Floor, Milchbuckstrasse 61, 8057 Zurich
Public event. Please register at:

Art in construction and other forms of artistic intervention in architecture and urban space generally assume a broad public as the audience. This context is especially significant when the commission is from public authorities. For whom does this art speak? Whom is it intended to address? What leads to the results being consistently controversial?

These questions were explored by students of the MAS ETH GTA during the Spring Semester 2024. The occasion involves nine historical case studies from the city of Zurich.

Most of these works still exist today, and yet their fates tell of the ever-changing perceptions of who or what belongs to an urban society. From the sculptural decorations on Semper's ETH building, to Concrete Art in the Stettbach S-Bahn station, to heritage-protected graffiti: focusing on public art provides unexpected insights into the processes of urban and social transformation.

The works are based on research in the GTA archive and other repositories. On May 31, materials and findings will be presented, forming the basis of an exhibition at the GTA Institute in Spring 2025.

Students:
Elias Baumgarten, Marlon Brownsword, Alica Clemens, Fabian Diem, Bernhard Geiger, Patrick Goldinger, Franz Handrik, Verena Jehle, Martin Klinger, Manuela König, Bernard Kümmerli, Joanna Lewańska, Henriette Lutz, Romana Martić, Peter Näf, Yosuke Nakamoto, Ariana Pradal, Corinne Räz, Anette Schick, Nora Tahiraj

Project Semester Concept and Leadership:
Dr. André Bideau

Co-Leaders MAS ETH GTA:
Dr. André Bideau, Dr. Susanne Schindler