Performance and atmosphere in urban public spaces: Street music in Guangzhou, China

Abstract

This study offers a discussion of the role of street music (busking) in urban public spaces using the lenses of performance theory and the theory of atmospheres in order to consider how street music and buskers shape the public space of a city. The study examines urban characters, soundscapes, emotions and affects, and atmospheres in relation to street musical performance. Explored in particular are the roles and processes of two levels of atmosphere—the atmospheric performance space and the atmosphere of a city. We take Guangzhou, China, as the case study and use questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and participant observation as research methods to reach three main findings. First, street music has growing influence and affects how urban public spaces are appropriated and managed. Second, street music performance shapes the atmospheric qualities of urban public space and in doing so sensorially invigorates and animates urban space. Third, street music contributes to the broader atmosphere of the city. Such an atmosphere, created by Guangzhou’s street music performances, that echoes Guangzhou’s characters as a free, down-to-earth, tolerant, and vibrant city can be felt and warms those who encounter it.