Co-Producing PAR+RS
Creative Scotland has just formally announced that I have, along with Trigger (Suzy Glass and Angie Bual www.triggerstuff.co.uk) been appointed as Co-Producers for PAR+RS www.publicartscotland.com, Creative Scotland’s public art development project.
So I’ve got a provocative question to start the ball rolling, is public art a subset of visual arts or is it everything across all artforms that takes place outside the temples of art?
Creative Scotland’s press release is here.
CHRIS FREMANTLE 
dear Chris,
my spontaneous reaction to your question is, that there is an important distinction to be made between “public art” and “art in public”: the difference is one of intention.
Public Art, by my definition, is art that is devised for public spaces, public situations. It is not just art that happens to find itself aired in the public domain – otherwise every outdoor exhibition, etc. would count as public art!
So, I would say that public art (visual, auditory, or other) is art that intentionally engages with public space and reception by the public, whether it is passive or interactive, provocative or “traditional”, highbrow or not, whether it was made as a site-specific work or bought in for the purpose.
I hope this brief answer is of use to you, and I’d be interested in other responses you get to this question!
best regards,
Sibylle