Is the art gallery the last non-judgmental public place?

We live in a world in which we judge and discourage one another to act ‘differently’. This human habit is complex and broad, so I won't try to define it. However, what I would like to explore is how the contemporary art space veils its visitors with an all accepting attitude, which is seen in few other places. I decided to try out this theory, by lying on the floor in one of the permanent exhibitions in the Switch House. I received a few strange looks, however, generally people looked upon me with soft, non-judgemental eyes. It was as if the contemporary space allowed almost anything to become normal. Perhaps this is the ultimate purpose of a gallery today and fundamentally its successes in educating the public about art.

I decided to take this idea one step further by sitting down in a random selection of other public spaces. Primark, Oxford Street, Regents Park and Waterstones. As I expected the first two locations were extremely uncomfortable and I quickly felt the pain of hundreds of burning eyes staring at me. The park was unquestionably accepted. However it was sitting in a book shop that perhaps lead me to my conclusion. Within creative spaces, where the focus has shifted from people to object, we no longer judge the personas around us but become immersed either intentionally or not in the art and thus our own minds, creating beautiful judgement-free bubbles.