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Start Complaining

31/03/2011 - 30/04/2011 (tz: Europe/Amsterdam)

 

The act of complaining is a significant part of our urban culture, no matter on the level of daily conversation or in the form of letters to the authority. These complaints can range from mundane affairs to city development. Community Museum Project (CMP) tries to investigate this phenomenon beyond its negative connotation of discontent.

The Complaint project took place last month at APAP2010 in Anyang, South Korea and aimed at visualizing and presenting the complaints of Anyang citizens in a comprehensive manner, so as to trigger discussion and potential actions.

In the project, it is seen as an index of urban living, and indicator of hope. Behind each complaint there is a longing for improvement, no matter if it is about environment, traffic, or trivia such as sounds made by neighbours. Complaints can cover a wide spectrum of concerns in the private and public spheres. To understand and to make them visible can be the first step towards social changes.

This, on the one hand, recognizes citizens’ complaints as an important measurement or indicator of the current state of city development; and on the other hand, through creative and macroscopic representation, voices the hope of the citizens on the development issues. In a way, this project is potentially a platform for civil articulation, participation and education, and ties APAP’s endeavour on public art to everyday living, thus echoing the theme of APAP010 on urban ecology.