Insecurity advocacy in the built environment: The visual art perspective

Abstract

The built environment is a man-made habitat designed and built for the comfort and safety of lives and properties of people living  there. However, such comfort and safety are usually threatened by insecurity. Efforts in the form of public enlightenment and oral advocacy in the media have been carried out to abate the situation, yet insecurity is still prevalent in the built environment. This paper takes a look at this social menace from the perspective of visual art with a view of abating the situation. It sets out to examine issues
of insecurity and its implication on the built environment; underscore the effectiveness of visual art in social advocacy; and emphasize the need for incorporating visual art as a means of abating insecurity in the built environment. The paper relied on library sources, internet, interview and review of related works of art. It concludes that much as information from artistic representation is more didactic, accessible and memorable than that of verbal language, the employment of massive insecurity advocacy in the form of visual art can abate insecurity in the built environment. It recommends the inclusion of visual art in the master plans of built environments, not mainly to serve aesthetic purpose but also utilitarian purpose of communicating crucial social messages to the public.

Keywords: Insecurity, Built environment, Visual Art, Advocacy