The Muslim Question in a Polish City: A Critical Analysis of Joanna Rajkowska’s Minaret (2009) and the Use of the City Space
The Muslim Question in a Polish City: A Critical Analysis of Joanna Rajkowska’s Minaret (2009) and the Use of the City Space

Summary/Abstract: The structural transformation of the Habermasian public sphere from the salons to the streets is directly related to understanding the boundaries of the city and the dynamics among its inhabitants today. The process of “transnationalization” via the mass media results in further “deterritorialization”, which brings with it the ambivalence of locality and universality within the same city. As the “counter-publics” continue to lack material means to rational-critical debate in envisioning the links between the city and its inhabitants, questions remain on what institutional arrangements can best facilitate participatory parity among the citizens. Joanna Rajkowska’s Minaret (2009-2011) bears a critical relationship to the city of Poznań as a site of play upon heritage, time-space relations, as well as religion. Who is the city really for – the inhabitant, the investor… the artist? Following Lefebvre’s definition and work conducted by such organizations as the UN-Habitat (2005), “the right to the city” suggests that all urban dwellers are equal participants. Does Rajkowska’s Minaret employ the best means that can ignite counter-public mobilization for Muslim minorities in Poznań, or does it simply make itself a victim to the postmodern Other?

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