PARTICIPATORY ART AND PARTICIPATORY DESIGN: SOURCES, DEFINITIONS AND VALUES

Over the past two decades, a demand for audience participation in creative and design processes has been increasingly felt. A profound transformation of the field of art is a consequence of its timeliness. The desideratum of participation of recipients and users as creators is not limited to the sphere of art, but also applies to city development processes, common spaces or digital culture. This is a result of the observed transformation of attitudes of both artists and designers who now want to expand the spectrum of their social presence to act as responsible citizens. However, today's proliferation of projects incorporating unprofessional and vernacular activities has not resulted in a broader analysis of this phenomenon in the field of art history. In this situation, a theoretical reflection that will follow the changes taking place seems to be an important need. The deficit of the correct understanding of the concepts of participatory art and participatory design translates into practical consequences in a situation where the slogan of participation is readily picked up by local authorities, referring to it during processes of urban tissue transformation and revitalization of neglected quarters. Therefore, the role of the following text is first of all - an indication of the sources of art and participatory design and the values associated with them, and secondly - a review and ordering of existing definitions. In this way, it has a chance to become an opportunity for rethinking what the phenomena actually are.