Art in the Smart City Visioning Workshop

November 3-5, 2017. Utopia Hall, Hotel Sandy’s Tower, Jayadev Vihar, Bhubaneswar

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In order to strengthen its unique identity as a vibrant, creative community, Bhubaneswar has planned to reinforce its sense of place through Public Art into the fabric of the city to reflect Bhubaneswar’s unique history, its diverse communities, its vision and its innovation. Planning to tap in to its rich history as a Temple City dating back to the 3rd century BC, and an emerging contemporary artistic temperament across art, architecture and culture, the development of a strategic citywide art and culture program has also been stressed in numerous forums including the Niti Aayog.

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However, such an objective required closer working relationships between City planners and art organisations from an early stage within a defined program and policy framework and a list of targeted opportunities to achieve success. In this context, Bhubaneswar Art Collective held a 2-day Visioning Workshop on 3rd and 4th November 2017 with key stakeholders including the Smart City SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) - Bhubaneswar Smart City Ltd (BSCL), Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), Smart City Advisory Forum and leading experts from the fields of urban planning, art, architecture and other intellectuals.

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The focus of the Visioning Workshop was to come up with a Smart City Art program with a defined vision, objectives and framework. The workshop was held as part of the ongoing Bhubaneswar Urban Lectures sessions being conducted by the Bhubaneswar Urban Knowledge Centre (BUKC) of BDA, with BUKC being a key partner in the organisation and implementation of this workshop.