Art rocks: Atmospheres of connection and everyday creativity in hybrid public space

Abstract

Using the analysis of online activity, autoethnographic reflection, and a participant survey, this article examines Australian rock-decorating groups on Facebook and the role of social media in everyday practices of decorating, hiding, and finding rocks. These groups use the platform to celebrate and share their creativity, generate digital connections between strangers, and in so doing bring about a distinctive hybrid of online and offline space. We draw on a cultural studies approach to issues of placemaking and social media to ask: what kinds of public space – online and offline – are created through these digital and material practices? Our analysis is framed by notions of placemaking, affordances, and public atmosphere to understand these forms of everyday creativity, community, and place.