The Changes in Public Spaces Usages for Performing Arts Sector after Covid-19 Disruption in Surakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

The existence of a public space enables all creative actors in the world to arrange performing arts activities at the local, national, and international levels. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the capability of the communities to interact with each other, changing the public space requirements of different types of performing art. This article is aimed to identify the differences between public spaces' usages for the performing arts sector before and after the pandemic Covid-19. In this research, Surakarta is chosen as the study case as it is one of the creative cities which is dependent on performing arts sectors. The determination of interviewees is done through the purposive sampling technique to find stakeholders as representatives that know well about the performing art sector in Surakarta. Through content analysis of the stakeholder perspectives, we identify the change in public space usage in promoting each type of performing art in Surakarta. We found that there are new parameters in determining the use of public space for the performing arts: the area, the scale of the public space, and the public space design. These three new parameters explain the different public space capacities in Surakarta to promote performing arts in Surakarta. Thus, the present work can be used to understand more what is needed to make public space reliable to adapt to the new normal era.