The First World Congress of the Missing Things

The 1st World Congress of the Missing Things is a public art project that turned the passage way Lexington Market Station into a public space for conversations and negotiations. The 1st World Congress of the Missing Things utilized a particular non-hierarchical spatial setup that encouraged public conversations with various agents and inhabitants. The implemented table installation allowed for one-to-one conversations by appropriating space as a flexible urban tool. This project took on the form of a Congress that shifted the usual format with its division between a panel and an audience from exclusion to inclusion.

The citizens of Baltimore were invited to present there issues. In this Congress, one-to-one communication was enhanced, and topics were presented simultaneously. Furthermore, no differentiation between “experts” and “audience” existed. Everybody, particularly the underrepresented (i.e. those who usually don’t have a public voice – and by no means have access to participating in a Congress) were encouraged to submit and publicly present their issues of Missing Things, partaking in decision-making as a self-initiated process of political engagement. The outset of the Congress was - on the one side - to return the responsibility to the inhabitants and take action and position their visions to the public, to politicians and to decision-makers. At the same time the authorities and decision-makers were equally invited – in order to bring together the diverse interests of the respective backgrounds of people.

Baltimore is a shrinking city (from originally 1.000.000 inhabitants to currently 600.000). "Baltimore shares some characteristics familiar in other post-industrial European cities: shrinking size and population, mixed ethnic population, social disintegration, an economic background of de-industrialization, efforts to reduce crime, and a vibrant cultural scene" (quote from the call). The City of Baltimore and the BROMO Arts district aim at reactivating the neglected area around Howard Street and Lexington Market by employing an art project engaging in urban issues. This area used to be the center of a lively downtown area. The aim was also to stretch beyond the BROMO Art District and engage people from other areas of Baltimore in order to address the difficult and complex situation of Baltimore as a shrinking city with the inherent challenges involved.

www.missingthings.org