Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Issue 1 | Page 58

Curating Public Art �.�:
The Case of Autopoiesis
Btihaj Ajana
Btihaj Ajana is a Senior Lecturer in Culture, Digital Humanities, and Creative Industries at
King’s College London. She is also a Marie Curie Research Fellow and Associate Professor at the
Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies. She is the author of Governing through Biometrics: The
Biopolitics of Identity (2013).
Abstract
This article examines the intersections between public art, curation and Web �.� technology.
Building on the case study of Autopoiesis, a digital art project focusing on the curation and
online exhibition of artworks received from members of the public in the United Arab
Emirates, the article explores the ways and extent to which a Web platform can enable
participatory culture and novel forms of audience engagement. While major cultural
institutions in the region tend to promote brand-like activities and prestige cultural projects,
Autopoiesis seeks to offer a more inclusive platform to facilitate autonomous creative
self-expressions and enable greater public participation in culture. By providing a critical
reflection on the “material” contexts of this digital project, the article also demonstrates
the related tensions between the virtual and the physical, and the wider “local” realities
enframing this project.
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