Abstract
This article presents public art experiments that have taken place in cities of the metropolitan region of Barcelona, Spain. Some of these experiments were commissioned with the purpose of fostering social cohesion, but instead, they have made social dissent visible. I analyze these public art experiments through two terms that have been often used to question them: utopia and idiocy. I argue that both terms are important in understanding the politics of aesthetics in these experiments. My final objectives are first to assess if these experiments can help us better understand their urban and cultural context, and second if the politics of aesthetics is a good framework to analyze public art experiments.