Bibliogr. s. 117-120

The interest in artistic quarters displayed by contemporary academics and policy makers is a reflection of ongoing changes in the perception of the position and roles of artists and of transformations underway in cities and urban economies. Although such areas might be intuitively identifiable in most large urban centres, it is hard to provide a straightforward answer to the question of whether the objective, diverse expressions of presence and activities of artists visible in urban space are of decisive importance to the existence of such quarters or whether the subjective perception of some urban areas as being linked with artists plays a greater role. In this chapter an attempt is made to place artistic quarters in the context of broader and more complex configurations of places linked with artists, such as places of residence, artistic creation, exhibition and performance, socializing, networking and inspiration. We are interested in particular in seeing whether in selecting places for such activities artists indeed base their spatial choices to a significant extent on the existence and availability of features and amenities perceived as desired by and characteristic of bohemians. In conclusion, the ambiguous and contradictory attitudes of artists towards clusters of artists’ presence and areas dubbed as artistic quarters are discussed. Findings from a study of artists’ spatial preferences in a major Polish city are analysed from a general perspective but also in light of the particular urban context and specificity of post-socialist cities in Central and Eastern Europe.