This thesis examines the role of art within public spaces. The aim of the thesis is toexamine the potential role art has in challenging the narrative of the city. The thesiscritically reflects upon urban planning as placemaking, in terms of creatingconsensus driven narratives. The role of art in this regard should be understood inreference to Chantal Mouffe's notion of critical art, and, in relation to the thesis, thepotential art has in creating counter-hegemonic interventions to the existingplanning discourses.This has led to the thesis research question: How does art in public spacesperform an active role in challenging the narrative of Copenhagen and increasingrepresentation within these public spaces?By using Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s discourse theory as themethodological and theoretical frame, the thesis seeks to understand how urbanplanning within the Municipality of Copenhagen is constructed and how art inpublic space may challenge this. This is executed by, on the one hand, looking atthree examples of art: ‘Hippolyta’, by the art group Tokyo Blue and ‘I Am QueenMary’ by La Vaughn Belle and Jeannette Ehlers and Superkilen by Superflex, BIG,Topotek1. On the other hand, this is executed by an examination of the MunicipalPlan of Copenhagen, ‘World city with responsibility’ and the three discourses ofeconomy, democracy, and representation at play.The thesis analysis is constructed around the research question, beginning with theconstruction of the planning narrative in relation to public space as presented in theMunicipal Plan, followed by an examination of how the three examples of art canbe seen as challenging this and therein increasing representation in public spaces. The thesis concludes a new perspective on art’s role in the public space. Theparticipatory effect of the crowdfunding for I Am Queen Mary as well as the“extreme participation” of Superkilen paves the way for rearticulating the narrativeof the Copenhageners, of the way the citizens perceive themselves and their city.Rather than rejecting the history and the historical monuments, the works of art canbe seen as renegotiating the perception of the monuments, allowing a differentrepresentation in the collective identification.This plurality of voices is enabled by the art works, leaving the role of art to beunderstood as potentially challenging the established narrative and pose newsubject positions within the discourses of economy, democracy, and representation