Art(-in-Transit): A Geographical Study of Site-Specific Artworks in MRT Stations & Commuters’ Sense of Place

Abstract

Art-in-Transit programme aims to enhance MRT stations and its surroundings with heritage-based artworks and create dialogues with the community. However, the organisers (i.e. LTA and Art Review Panel) and the academics have paid inadequate attention to commuters’ opinions on public art. Similarly, the study of art in transit nonplaces has been largely under-pursued. This thesis seeks to address the gap by providing a holistic analysis of public art, focusing on the production of artworks and commuters’ perception of the artworks in relation to the nature of transit space – that affect commuters’ sense of place. This thesis uncovers the ways organisers and artists collaborate to create site-specific artworks and integrate them into the stations. This thesis also analyses commuters’ perspectives of the artworks in relation to the place and ultimately, using the concept of Sense of Place, evaluates whether the addition of Art-in-Transit has enhanced their overall sense of place. Attention will be also drawn to evaluate the MRT station (i.e. nonplace) as an art space. This thesis concludes by positing that the success of Artin- Transit has been limited by the subjective meanings of art, lack of coherent identities of places and the transit nature of MRT stations, there remains much potential in Art-in-Transit to be realized through more-extensive publicity and inclusion of community in the decision-making process.