DRS2012 Bangkok Proceedings Vol 4 - Design Research Society

1964 Conference Proceedings
Sandra Viña
without any permission or consent from the city government. It is against the law to
appropriate the public space for a commercial activity, and make use of public electricity
and landline phone systems. However, these kinds of interventions have shed light to
new uses and meanings of public places as the state has granted permission for some
commercial interventions in specific sites of the city.
Figure 3 shows commercial interventions based on selling goods such as books; pirated
DVDs, computer programs, CDs of music, stationary items, food, clothes and toys among
others. Also, these product based interventions are by nature dissensual, created by
individuals and groups of people that disrupt the governmental normative. These financial
and commercial interventions have provoked a change in the city, empty spaces to walk
and play were suddenly full of commercial kiosks appearing and disappearing everyday.
Commercial interventions have brought another life experiences to places, in some cases
it has revitalized places from being alone and gray, to energetic and dynamic by people’s
commercial exchange. On the other hand, dissensual commercial interventions in some
places have brought conflict because some people are against the appropriation of
places for financial reasons, these interventions increases the traffic and makes the
walking flow and circulation difficult. However, the government has tried to solve the
situation by constructing new shopping areas to peddlers and by giving permission to
some commercial interventions to stay. Intervening public places can gain permanent
situations and over all gain new spaces and mind-set.
Figure 2 Financial intervention based on Figure 3 Commercial interventions
mobile phone service. Caracas, Venezuela. based on selling different goods.
Source: Sandra Viña (2011) Source: Sandra Viña (2011)
The Cultural and Artistic Intervention
The cultural and artistic intervention has to do with happenings and performances of
cultural magnitude such as shows of magic, acrobatics, street dance, graffiti events,
installations and theater among other types. Cultural interventions are partly linked to the
character of the commercial and financial intervention because art and culture can be
positioned as a product or on the same level as any other consumable. The difference is
that the product on sell takes up a scope into the arts and performance, and thus, brings
about the cultural and artistic dimension. Dissensual artistic and cultural interventions are
acts by individuals and group of people that have not granted permission from the local
authority. Such interventions often include graffiti, art installation, yarn bombing, street
gardening, street dance, and acrobatics among others. The cultural and artistic
interventionist acts as a volunteer, performs on streets and in many cases expects people
to give money for his/her artistic and cultural action. This is the case of street dances,
circus plays, street players and so on. However, people are not forced to consume, enjoy
or pay for a cultural intervention. Thus, the cultural and artistic intervention can have an
approach from passive, dialogical, and participative to reflective. Moreover, consensual
interventions of artistic and cultural aspect are easily found in most cities. The public and