A show challenging the conventional understanding of public art, Culture in Action in Chicago had a new social agenda, and rethought what an exhibition of contemporary art might be. This project was curated by Mary Jane Jacob as part of the Sculpture Chicago programme in 1993.

Through eight projects by artists initiated in the early 1990s and developed in collaboration with local people, the intention was to engage diverse groups over time, in addition to the visiting public in 1993.

In this fifth book in Afterall’s Exhibition Histories series, the course of these projects is documented, with a critical reappraisal of this important exhibition in newly commissioned essays and interviews, together with reviews from the time.

Included are interviews with Mary Jane Jacob, Mark Dion and Simon Grennan.

Published with Afterall Books.