HOW PUBLIC ART BRIDGES HERITAGE, FUTURE

As cities grow more connected and outward-looking, public art helps preserve identity, memory and a sense of place

- BY ALIA ZAAL LOOTAH | Special to Gulf News

In cities across the world, the effects of globalisation are producing an unexpected paradox.

As urban centres become more connected and outward-looking, they risk losing the very qualities that once made them distinct. Skylines may rise, infrastructures may strengthen, but without a sense of identity, cities can quickly feel interchangeable. This is exactly where public art comes in. Not as a form of cultural embellishment, but as a means of grounding a city in its heritage while leading its evolution.

Public art, especially when site-specific and interactive, acts as a kind of compass that orients residents and visitors not through geography alone, but through meaning and imagination. It reminds people of their surroundings and encourages them to rediscover the landscapes and histories that shape collective identity. At a time when cities must constantly negotiate between tradition and progress, public art provides the language to hold both.