Public Square 2.0 is a video-based multi-projection installation about people’s interactions within the public space, as a reflection of people’s relationships within a community in Beijing under the COVID-19 context. The videos screened within are documentations of human interactions in a community in Beijing during the COVID-19 outbreak from March to August in 2020. Each video highlights different parts of a communal square, documenting individuals and their daily activities within it at different times.

When it comes to DKU community, for students, staff and faculty abroad, most of them are still unable to return to campus due to the pandemic. The installation is located at the AB lobby and with cameras aimed at the lobby live, and a whiteboard that allows real-time interactions through Zoom, people within the public area and those abroad can communicate with each other in a reconstructed DKU community during the ongoing pandemic.

The pandemic has affected people’s lives all around the world. Even till now, people’s outdoor activities are more or less restricted. And for some, the access to face-to-face interactions is still difficult. Within this context, this project wants to explore how we can increase interactions and strengthen bonds between the DKU community. What roles can communal space play in this process? How can we, as a community, support each other, and tell each other that we will face the challenges together?

Student Team Member

Faculty Team Member