Public Art / Space is a study of socially engaged artworks that activate their surrounding environments through spatial and conceptual relationships. The title of this thesis refers to the nature of successful public artworks becoming interchangeable and indistinguishable from the space they inhabit. Activated public artworks do not occupy a space, they become a space in tandem with the surrounding environment. Public art has the power to create places as well as exist symbiotically within them; what was once an empty, blank space can become a gathering point (such as a plaza) or a focal point in an environment where no interest existed before. Thanks to Florida's Art in State Buildings Program, the University of South Florida’s Contemporary Art Museum has been able to amass a world-class collection of engaging public artworks worked throughout their campuses.

CAM’s emphasis on social engagement has fostered a public art collection that activates environments by facilitating social interactions in gathering spaces, providing physical pathways between spaces, and creating symbolic wayfinding throughout campus. This book will focus on CAM’s Public Art collection as a microcosm of successfully activated public works that create a network of physical and conceptual pathways at their Tampa campus.