Merging Spaces: Augmented Reality, Temporary Public Art, and the Reinvention of Site

The chapter explores how augmented reality (AR) has redefined temporary, site-specific public art, expanding the field by introducing new practices, and offering possibilities for public engagement that did not exist before. This chapter investigates temporary and site-specific public art before AR technology, then looks at Broadway Augmented—an innovative early augmented reality public art project located in Sacramento, California—and finishes with recent projects that exemplify how the field has expanded. Developments in AR technologies, mobile devices, and ubiquitous networks have meant that augmented reality art can have an immediate public presence, responding to social, environmental, and cultural issues as they are unfolding, making it a pivotal form of public art for the twenty-first century.