Making Space for Art: A Spatial Perspective of Disruptive and Defensive Institutional Work in Venezuela’s Art World

The physical and material aspects of space, such as geographical distance or boundaries, have social and symbolic consequences that impact how people influence and are influenced by institutions. Social actors can, however, contest how space is conceived, perceived, and lived, thus making space a crucial lever in the disruption and defense of institutions. However, we lack understanding of the spatial aspects of such institutional struggles. In exploring how space is leveraged in institutional work, our study foregrounds the sociopolitical nature of space, building on and expanding the theorization of Henri Lefebvre. We draw on an in-depth longitudinal analysis of the material, social, and symbolic aspects of the spatial dimensions of disruptive and defensive institutional work over the past 20 years in Venezuela’s art world. Following the start of the Bolivarian Revolution in the late 1990s, the incoming government transformed the organization of the national cultural landscape, resulting in a prolonged period of institutional disruption and defense. Analyzing data relating to Venezuela’s art world during this time, we demonstrate that actors use the material, social, and symbolic dimensions of space to challenge and maintain their key values and practices—and that these three dimensions are intertwined.