Abstract: Contemporary visual culture is encroaching on daily, social and political lives of the public with diversified content and in hi-tech forms. The public nature of contemporary visual culture brings much convenience for itself to integrate into public space, guide public value and participate into public governance. Empirical investigations show that visual culture representing everyday life tends to provide entertainment and interest, and visual culture reflecting social life is hypersensitive to the public nature, while visual culture referring to political life is becoming more pronounced for its remedying social inequality and nurturing participation habits. Visual culture is provided with an unprecedented opportunity to participate into public governance. From the top-design, platform construction and public awareness, the mutual benefit of visual culture and public governance will bring new changes for human civilization.

Key words: visual culture, public nature, public governance