Männens konst i maktens offentlighet : En studie av den offentliga konsten i Västerås stadskärna ur ett genusperspektiv.

This paper aims to investigate the public art in the city center of Västerås, the area the citizens commonly call “Cityringen”. The intent is to search for a possible differentiation between how the art created by female artists and the art created by male artists are placed in relation to important buildings and institutions. The quantity of the artworks are also taken into consideration. The study is based on gender theory, a theory that recognizes the power structures and hierarchies between genders. It also takes the aspect of site specificity and size into the analysis. Research shows that out of the 67 public art pieces, only seven are created by female artists. Most of them are scattered through out the city with no relation to other artworks or important places and buildings. The fact is that the art around and on the exterior of the City hall is all created by male artists, while only one out of six artworks in the botanical garden were created by a female artist. This creates a problem in that the representation does not coincide with the idea of gender equality. The public space is meant to accommodate everyone regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and religion. This study has shown that, because of the overrepresentation of male artists, the public space in Västerås does not communicate the equality that is desirable