In human geography and urban studies space has been thought politically and politics spatially deriving from different conceptualizations of space. In my presentation, I contribute to the discussion of space and politics drawing on Jacques Rancière’s theorization on politics and arts. I find that Jacques Rancière’s political thought provides us with a novel attempt to understand the conditions of possibility for politics and the formation of political subject(ivity). Discussion is based on my current research which aims to outline new ways for understanding participation, belonging, and political subjectivity in the context of urban everyday living and urban planning, and open up the theoretical and methodological bases currently framing these understandings.

The main interest in this presentation, however, is crystallized in question: How can we experiment ‘methodologically’ the plurality of forms of being a participating citizen in conjunction with citizens, artists and art works? Therefore I will elaborate the citizenship from the viewpoint of practicing and experimenting political equality and emphasize what it means if we accept an understanding of the plurality of forms of being a citizen. This discussion is illustrated connecting with my recent study of experimental, art-based participation conducted in a specific suburban area in Turku, Finland. Discussion is opened up to participation beyond the idea of formal participation, and experimental, art-based participation is seen as a space of politics where the formation of voices might be made actual. I will also briefly discuss these experiences in relation to the ways and articulations which constitute Finnish suburbs with their inhabitants as the objects and the ‘proper’ subjects of development, and highlight some important notions emerging out of this political event.