Art as a Means to Disrupt Routine Use of Space

This paper examines the publicly visible aspects of
counter-terrorism activity in pedestrian spaces as mechanisms
of disruption. We discuss the objectives of counter-terrorism in
terms of disruption of routine for both hostile actors and general
users of public spaces, categorising the desired effects as 1)
triangulation of attention; 2) creation of unexpected performance;
and 3) choreographing of crowd flow. We review the
potential effects of these existing forms of disruption used in
counter-terrorism. We then present a palette of art, advertising,
architecture, and entertainment projects that offer examples of
the same disruption effects of triangulation, performance and
flow. We conclude by reviewing the existing support for public
art in counter-terrorism policy, and build on the argument for art
as an important alternative to authority. We suggest that while
advocates of authority-based disruption might regard the playfulness
of some art as a weakness, the unexpectedness it offers
is perhaps a key strength