The theme will run 1 October 2018 - 31 May 2019. During this period, an interdisciplinary group of eight researchers will arrange a number of activities (e.g. workshops, talks, seminars, film screenings), both at The Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies and elsewhere. The theme will be rounded off with a conference in May 2019.

More information about the theme can be found on The Pufendorf Institute's website.

Once the project is underway, updates about activities will be posted on the theme's Instagram.

Urban creativity is an umbrella term referring to activities within, or in direct relation to, the city. Examples of urban creativity include, but are not limited to, street art, graffiti, urban foraging (dumpster diving), parkour, skateboarding and guerrilla gardening. An important characteristic of situated urban creative practices is that they push legal, moral and cultural boundaries by intervening and exploring alternative ways of using and understanding the city.

The theme project will explore a number of topics, including the publicness of urban public space, urban creativity as a vehicle for urban regeneration and gentrification, and the internet and social media as distribution channels for expressions of urban creativity.

The theme was initiated by Peter Bengtsen (Division of Art History and Visual Studies, Lund University) and Erik Hannerz (Department of Sociology, Lund University), who also act as coordinators. Anyone interested in visiting or otherwise collaborating with the Urban Creativity research group is welcome to contact the coordinators.

The Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies (Pufendorfinstitutet) is an inter- and transdisciplinary institute at Lund University. The aim is to be a creative forum, an incubator for new ideas and a springboard for new research initiatives.