Liesel Fenner

Shepherding Public Art: The 2011 Public Art Network Year in Review

Posted by Liesel Fenner, Jul 13, 2011


Liesel Fenner

Public art sheep takes a coffee break (Photo by Jed Berk)

You’re walking to your morning coffee shop passing by the regulars sitting at outdoor tables reading and sipping coffee. But wait, something is different. A guy is seated at a table with a sheep. Not a live sheep, but a white fluffy sculptural object placed on the chair next to him. Huh?

Ahhh...the beauty, surprise, and often, humor of temporary public art in spaces where one wouldn’t normally encounter art.

Who was behind this sheep ‘spotting’ moment? The City of San Jose Public Art program - the 2011 Public Art Network Year in Review Program of the Year!

A Champion Flock of Weed Eaters created by artist Jed Berk was reported and digitally recorded  being spotted around the city of San Jose. A temporary public art project for the San Fernando light rail corridor, it was a partnership between the city and the 01SJ Biennial.

Weed Eaters was an anchor artwork on the front lawn of the Diridon Station where a makeshift ‘barn’ housed the flock of sheep and their ewe, a four foot tall ‘Mother Sheep’ complete with an internal computer sculpturally placed in her ‘belly’.

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Tim Mikulski

Arts Education Advocacy Success in Sunny San Diego

Posted by Tim Mikulski, Jun 30, 2011


Tim Mikulski

Tim Mikulski

Tim Mikulski

For those of you who were able to attend our local arts education advocacy session at the Americans for the Arts Annual Convention, you know all about the work of the San Diego Alliance for Arts Education.

For those that couldn't make it to San Diego a few weeks ago, the Alliance was created as part of a statewide effort by the California Alliance for Arts Education to launch local advocacy groups.

Led by Americans for the Arts' Arts Education Council Chair Victoria Plettner-Saunders, the group has recently been attempting to restore funding to the San Diego Unified School District's (SDUSD) Visual and Performing Arts Department (VAPA). (You can read more about their efforts in an earlier post from ARTSblog or by purchasing our full slate of sessions on our Convention On-Demand site and viewing the local arts education advocacy session).

On June 21, all of their relationship-building and advocacy efforts led to a unanimous vote by the board of education that restored full funding to arts education programs for the 2011-2012 school year.

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Hoong Yee Krakauer

50 Ways to Love Your Conference

Posted by Hoong Yee Krakauer, Jun 29, 2011


Hoong Yee Krakauer

Danielle Brazell & Ramona Baker

I like to think I am a better person, smarter, my head filled with new ways of thinking, and ready to rock and roll after being surrounded by people who love and respect the power of the arts to change the world.

The truth is, I am probably heavier after all of the dine-arounds and dinners out. My card case will explode with all of the business cards I collected. My eyes glaze over thinking about where to start first.

My mother, the evolved Buddhist from Bayside, did not achieve her state of grace without believing in some basic universal truths. She would say, "Get over yourself. You are just a speck in the grand scheme of things so relax. Take one step at a time."

Thanks, Mom.

I know she meant to say something like "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," but after living in Queens you start to sound like a local.

Anyway, here are some of my impressions and images from this year's American For the Arts Annual Convention in San Diego:

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Hoong Yee Krakauer

Changing the World, One Ballroom at a Time

Posted by Hoong Yee Krakauer, Jun 28, 2011


Hoong Yee Krakauer

Hoong Yee, about to engage her superpowers in flip charting

It is a good thing to know what you are good at.

According to my wise thirteen-year-old son, I am good at lunch, sewing on buttons, and getting better at playing Action Potato on my phone. Oh, and hugs, lots of them.

My dear friend Barbara Schaffer Bacon who is the Co-Director of Animating Democracy at Americans for the Art thought I would be good as a discussion leader for a conference session at the Americans for the Arts 2011 Annual Convention earlier this month in San Diego.

I was thrilled to be joined by Josie Talamantez, Assistant Chief of Grant Programs for the California Arts Council, and Sioux Trujillo, Associate Director of Community + Public Arts DETROIT.

Actually, I was really very good at writing stuff on flip charts. I am a force to be reckoned with when I have a marker in my hand.

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Tim Mikulski

Not Just Butts in Seats...Eyeballs on Screens

Posted by Tim Mikulski, Jun 27, 2011


Tim Mikulski

Tim Mikulski

Tim Mikulski

I have now successfully attended four Americans for the Arts Annual Conventions (Philadelphia, Seattle, Baltimore, and San Diego) as a member of the staff.

In my previous two roles, I worked with the dedicated members of the State Arts Action Network while in the Government and Public Affairs Department and I managed the Arts Education Network under the Local Arts Advancement Department.

While in those positions, I was happy to attend conventions as a way to get to the know our members beyond email addresses and phone numbers, but it was through Twitter that I was able to network with my new arts education colleagues from across the country before I even met them.

It's amazing what kind of relationships you can build 140 characters at a time.

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Hoong Yee Krakauer

Engaging Corporate Citizens - 'Begin with the Small and Possible'

Posted by Hoong Yee Krakauer, Jun 27, 2011


Hoong Yee Krakauer

Blogger Hoong Yee's sketch of Stephanie Madden.

Does this happen to you at a convention?

I find myself feeling being swept under by the torrent of talk, ideas, cool people to follow up with, session after session of topics I am intrigued by and of course, the beautiful San Diego weather, and views of the bay are a constant distraction as well.

The fear pounding in my heart is, “What difference can I make now, right now?”

Where to start, who to talk to, what part of the world first?

I hate when this happens. So bad for the skin.

So I was delighted to hear a poetic piece of advice cut through a cavernous ballroom, something that Stephanie A. Madden, the Arts and Cultural Manager of Bank of America, shared with us in answer to this very sentiment at a conference session at the Americans for the Arts 2011 Annual Convention in San Diego.

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Hoong Yee Krakauer

How to Build and Protect Intellectual Property with Uncle Sam

Posted by Hoong Yee Krakauer, Jun 24, 2011


Hoong Yee Krakauer

A sketch of Jean by blog post author Hoong Yee.

I love listening to smart women and being surrounded by many of them this weekend at the Americans for the Arts Convention in San Diego. There are ballrooms filled with people who are committed to working in the arts and with the arts to make life better.

Of course we know how the arts affect how we live together in this world. We are the arts people. However, I often forget that sometimes we need to think of ourselves as creative industries and creative exports especially when working in a global mindset.

After I stumbled out of the sunlight, properly caffeinated and ready to begin my conference blogging for the day, I  found myself in a session entitled, "Building Bridges: International Cultural Exchange" featuring two innovators, Jean A. Bonilla and Stephanie A. Madden. 

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Theresa Cameron

Perserverance and Imagination

Posted by Theresa Cameron, Jun 24, 2011


Theresa Cameron

Theresa Cameron

Perseverance and imagination.

These are two words that successfully describe what rural and small arts organizations continually do.

I was once again reminded of this first-hand as I listened to the rural and small arts organization peer group discussion at our Annual Convention in San Diego last week.

It’s been a few years since Americans for the Arts held a rural and small local arts agencies gathering and attendees were excited to talk to, and learn from, each other.

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Breena Loraine

Finding the Right Words: Facts and Figures to Aid Your Fight for the Arts

Posted by Breena Loraine, Jun 22, 2011


Breena Loraine

Making the Case for the Arts Session - #AFTA11

It is now more important than ever to defend funding and preservation of the arts. This was the subject of “Making the Case for the Arts,” a session at this year’s Americans for the Arts convention.

While many reasons for supporting the arts were addressed, Randy Cohen, Vice President of Research and Policy at Americans for the Arts, presented research mostly on the significance of the arts with regard to education, the economy, personal development, and healthcare.

Education. Studies show that, regardless of income level, students who are highly active in the arts are less likely to drop out of school by 10th grade (1.4 percent vs. 4.8 percent).

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Rich Mintz

San Diego, America's Finest City

Posted by Rich Mintz, Jun 22, 2011


Rich Mintz

One of Rich's San Diego purchases.

Growing up in Los Angeles, San Diego (long known as “America’s Finest City,” but the first I heard of that in my life was Thursday evening from a cappella singers that greeted convention goers on the way to the trolley line) was a place we didn’t go to very often.

There was the time we went to Vacation Village and my dad beached the rental sailboat in Mission Bay, and the time I drove down to Rosarito Beach in the 12th grade with a couple of friends in a vain attempt to convince ourselves we were wild American high school kids (I remember drinking a lot of Mirinda orange soda).

And a couple of other short, unmemorable visits. (On one of them, when I came from DC — which didn’t have Trader Joe’s yet in those days — a highlight was the Trader Joe’s in Hillcrest.)

But for the most part, San Diego was a place you went through on the way to Mexico, or stopped in for a couple of days without ever really experiencing much of the “placeness” of the place.

So this time, while in San Diego for the Americans for the Arts Convention, I wanted to do things differently.

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Ms. Sally Gaskill

Reflections of an Arts Administrator on her Umpteenth Americans for the Arts Convention

Posted by Ms. Sally Gaskill, Jun 21, 2011


Ms. Sally Gaskill

Sally Gaskill

My first convention was in 1983 or 1984 in Hartford, when the then National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies met with the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. (Those were not only the pre-digital years, but the period when the acronyms – NALAA and NASAA - were more in alignment.)

I was a fresh-faced community development coordinator for the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. I remember what a rush it was to meet people like me from all over the country.

We did communicate back then – there were telephones, and we actually wrote letters and posted them in the mail – but there sure wasn’t Facebook or Twitter to keep us in touch with each other by the minute. So meeting up at convention was a big deal.

As the years have passed, I have been a frequent attendee of these annual meetings. Americans for the Arts has always been my home, because my work in arts administration has been grounded in community arts.

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Ms. Danielle Brazell

I Have A Problem…A Civic Engagement Problem

Posted by Ms. Danielle Brazell, Jun 21, 2011


Ms. Danielle Brazell

Danielle Brazell

I run a local arts advocacy organization in a small fishing village on the west coast that’s home to 10 million people, 88 cities, and 81 school districts in a geography that spans thousands of square miles.

Yes, my little fishing village (aka Los Angeles) is massive!

Our advocacy approach has been high-tech/high-touch advocacy approach and is focused on three critical issue areas:

•    Arts Education
•    Cultural Economy
•    Civic Engagement

Within this context, I constantly ask the question: How can we connect more people to advocate for the arts in their community? I think the answer lies somewhere between community organizing and community development.

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Rich Mintz

Basic Online Fundraising for Busy People

Posted by Rich Mintz, Jun 20, 2011


Rich Mintz

Rich Mintz

At the Americans for the Arts Annual Convention, I had the pleasure of listening to Camille Schenkkan of Arts for LA giving an unusually lucid and helpful introductory summary to online tools for donor development and management.

I think those of us who work in online fundraising for a living — especially those of us who mostly work with large organizations, the kind that have a dozen or more people in the marketing department, and technical staff to handle the donor database, and so forth — sometimes forget how mystifying all of this stuff is to a lot of people.

If you’re doing three jobs at once, in an environment where there’s never any extra money lying around, with a board of directors (or a major donor, city council, etc.) breathing down your neck — sound familiar? — what you want is not a bunch of platitudes about the “next generation” and the “new normal.” You want someone to tell you the dozen or so things you need to know, and the half-dozen or so things you should try to do this month or this quarter.

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Sheryl Oring

Sending An Arts Message to the President

Posted by Sheryl Oring, Jun 20, 2011


Sheryl Oring

Penny Ross eyed my “I Wish to Say” office from across the room and I beckoned her over and invited her to dictate a postcard to the President.

It was early in the morning at the Americans for the Arts Annual Convention in San Diego, and Ms. Ross clearly had something to say.

She started her postcard to the White House like this: “I live in Chandler, Arizona. Arizona has eliminated all of the funding for the arts.”

Ms. Ross went on to tell me that she’d been teaching art to junior high students for 12 years, but that her job was just eliminated. “They don’t want to spend money on art supplies,” she said. “But the annual budget was $500. And that served 1,000 students.”

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Breena Loraine

Well, I Do Declare: Studying Arts Not A Major Mistake

Posted by Breena Loraine, Jun 18, 2011


Breena Loraine

Higher Education Peer Group Session - AFTA11

I have the great privilege of attending this year’s Americans for the Arts Annual Convention as a student representative of San Diego State University. As a student, I was excited to attend the Higher Education Peer Group.

During the session, the conversation gravitated toward the difficult decision college students face as they declare their major. In a fickle economic environment and uncertain job market, students may be deterred from choosing to major in their true passion—music, dance, theater, art, photography, etc.

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Stephanie Hanson

What About Those Who Simply Don’t Know What They Don’t Know?

Posted by Stephanie Hanson, Jun 18, 2011


Stephanie Hanson

Stephanie Evans

Stephanie Evans

I like structure. It helps me think clearly, feel organized and productive about my day, and create balance in my life. Then I entered the field of arts management: a sector that by it’s very nature and design is possibly one of the most unstructured career paths you could enter into.

Yesterday, I co-facilitated the discussion session "Demystifying Professional Development: Benefits of Classroom vs. on the Job Learning" with Ramona Baker (Principal at Ramona Baker Consulting and Director of the Masters Program in Arts Administration at Goucher College) and Letitia Ivins (Assistant Director of Civic Art at the Los Angeles County Arts Commission).

The idea for this session came out of the 2009 Emerging Leader Survey, where we asked survey participants what their concentration of study was. The 554 responses broke out as follows: 37%  - Arts; 15% - Arts Administration; 8% - Business; 40% - Other. 40% - Other? 

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Ms. Emily Peck

There's a Movement Afoot...

Posted by Ms. Emily Peck, Jun 18, 2011


Ms. Emily Peck

Emily Peck

Emily Peck

On Friday, as the sun made it's daily appearance over the Bay, Ray Pohlman from AutoZone asked us to pretend it was February in Minnesota and resist the urge to head out to the pool. For those of us who took his advice, it was worth it.

We got to hear why companies you might not expect including an auto parts company and an airplane manufacturer care about the arts.

According to Ray Pohlman, supporting the arts at AutoZone is for business reasons. They wouldn't do it if wasn't meaningful to the bottom line.

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Ms. Sally Gaskill

Reporting from San Diego

Posted by Ms. Sally Gaskill, Jun 17, 2011


Ms. Sally Gaskill

Sally Gaskill

Yesterday morning I happened to walk down the hall and saw a sign for a “Higher Education Peer Group” session. I am an arts administrator who works in higher education, so I hoped the session would be open to anyone, and I was in luck. I immediately recognized the person in charge: the bow-tied Ron Jones, newly appointed president of the Memphis College of Art.

In Ron’s previous position as Dean of the Arts at the University of South Florida, he had spoken out about the need for data on the people who graduate with arts degrees from our colleges and universities. He had, in fact, become a poster child for the research project I manage at Indiana University – the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project – and is quoted on the SNAAP brochure as follows:  “Accountability is our future, and SNAAP is providing data that heretofore we made up or assumed.” 

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Mr. Graham Dunstan

Convention = Learning + Colleague Inspiration

Posted by Mr. Graham Dunstan, Jun 17, 2011


Mr. Graham Dunstan

Graham Dunstan

This is my 13th Americans for the Arts Annual Convention—that’s if you count me crashing the closing reception at the World of Coca Cola Museum in Atlanta in 1999 even though I wasn’t a registered attendee. (That took effort, so I count it).

I spent some time yesterday thinking about what Convention offers me and if I rely on it now for different things than I did earlier in my career. When I was working at the Fulton County Arts Council in Atlanta from 1999 to 2004, Convention for me was all about helping grow the fledgling emerging leaders program and gaining the tools I needed as a new arts administration professional.

And I’ll tell you, I looked forward to Convention all year long. When I arrived on site I’d absorb the information from the program book—circling sessions I wanted to attend and creating a complicated schedule with different colored highlighters so I best take advantage of every session and networking opportunity that interested me. 

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Rich Mintz

My Two Years with Americans for the Arts

Posted by Rich Mintz, Jun 16, 2011


Rich Mintz

Rich Mintz

I’m in San Diego this week for the Americans for the Arts Convention, which kicked off at noon today with a welcome by president Bob Lynch and a keynote address by California social-activist legend Bobby Shriver.

This is my fourth Americans for the Arts event in two years. Heading for my first (the 2009 National Arts Marketing Project conference in Providence), I was afraid I’d feel out of place. If you know me, you know I’m not exactly shy, but I’ve always been a little scared of arts people. They tend to be so sure of themselves, and bubbling over with ideas, and I’m just, you know, a businessman—on the creative end of the spectrum for a businessman, to be sure, but nevertheless…But I had no reason to worry.

One thing about arts people is that they love talking about ideas. And the ideas that might help them get more people to experience and enjoy art, or advocate for arts funding and education, or donate to support the arts in their own communities—well, those are the ideas they love talking about most of all. And it just so happens that those are the kinds of ideas we at Blue State Digital trade in, so everything worked out fine. 

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Tim Mikulski

Join Us in San Diego (Virtually, at Least)

Posted by Tim Mikulski, Jun 14, 2011


Tim Mikulski

It's hard to believe, but another Americans for the Arts Annual Convention is about to begin.

A portion of our staff has been on the ground in San Diego for the past few days, while others (like me) will be heading out bright an early tomorrow morning. (Well, it's not that bright at 6:00 a.m., but it will definitely be morning.)

While we still have another 1,000 or so attendees joining us at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront and the surrounding area from Wednesday through Saturday, you can still participate from your own offices and/or living rooms throughout the country (or even come down and register on site).

Here are just some of the many ways you can participate:

  • ARTSblog - We have a number of staff members, presenters, and attendees lined up to write posts during and after the Convention. They will be writing about sessions, meetings, networking events, and our host city.
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Victoria J. Plettner-Saunders

Bringing Arts Education Home – San Diego Style

Posted by Victoria J. Plettner-Saunders, Jun 10, 2011


Victoria J. Plettner-Saunders

Victoria Plettner-Saunders

Just as I’m preparing for a convention session about how attendees can create their own local arts education advocacy networks based on a model we’ve been using in San Diego and throughout California, I get word from a key district decision maker about their need for some information that may help them take some critical steps to avoid big cuts to the visual and performing arts department budget.

This is a milestone for our newly formed San Diego Alliance for Arts Education. We are being recognized by district decision makers for our ability to help them make more informed decisions to keep arts education in San Diego schools. While we’re not out of the woods yet, I certainly feel a victory for the role that the Alliance’s carefully planned advocacy is playing.

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Liesel Fenner

Closing the Door on the Public Art Salon

Posted by Liesel Fenner, Apr 15, 2011


Liesel Fenner

Liesel Fenner

It has been a whole week of public art blogging from 19 PAN peeps!

Thanks to everyone who contributed, and keep the Tweets, Facebook shares, comments, etc. coming.

Topics ran the gamut, from Leo Berk’s ‘non-typical’ artist residency working with the King Country (WA) bridge division, to Katherine Sweetman’s (first and final) blog–as-art-intervention for the San Diego Union Tribune.

As we noted, many of the bloggers will be presenting at the Public Art Preconference, June 15-16 in sunny San Diego. (Re-click on the link: the site is updated every day). 

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Barbara Goldstein

Marie Curie Inspires New San Diego Public Art

Posted by Barbara Goldstein, Apr 15, 2011


Barbara Goldstein

Madame Curie

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego has commissioned Jennifer Steinkamp to create a new work for MCASD Downtown’s Joan and Irwin Jacobs Building.

Entitled Madame Curie, this new commission is inspired by Steinkamp’s recent research into atomic energy, atomic explosions, and the effects of these forces on nature.

Marie Curie was the recipient of two Nobel Prizes for creating the theory of radioactivity, and discovering radium and polonium.  

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Cathy Breslaw

Why Public Art Is Good for All Artists

Posted by Cathy Breslaw, Apr 14, 2011


Cathy Breslaw

Cathy Breslaw

As a contemporary visual artist working and living in San Diego county, I am always contemplating where and how my work can be exhibited.

Over the last several years I have had opportunities to be part of temporary public art exhibitions in downtown commercial buildings, private companies, restaurants, and the San Diego International Airport.

While these exhibits have provided good places to be seen in the area, I never really thought about these exhibitions as "public art."

I pretty much took these shows for granted and in many ways, I may have been blinded by the traditional notions that “good art” should be seen in other venues like contemporary galleries, college and university galleries, museums, and hip nonprofit spaces.

I didn’t evaluate exhibition opportunities in the broadest sense and now that I have had time to reflect upon the past, I have learned some things.

One thing that has opened my eyes to the expansiveness of public art is the book I read called The Artists Guide to Public Art by Lynn Basa.  

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Tim Mikulski

San Diego Insiders: Why You Have to Come to Our Annual Convention

Posted by Tim Mikulski, Apr 11, 2011


Tim Mikulski

A production of "Macbeth" at The Old Globe in San Diego.

Not only does San Diego provide a laid back attitude, beaches, and fantastic weather, but according to Mayor Jerry Sanders, its investment in the arts is paying off.

Last week, Mayor Sanders announced that the city's $6.4 million investment of room tax dollars in the arts and culture of the city generated a return of $173 million spent by the organizations, including providing 7,000 jobs and $98.8 million in salaries. He also vowed to keep that funding dedicated to the arts in his next budget.

But, if a mayor that supports the arts isn't reason enough (although it should be) to come to our 2011 Annual Convention in San Diego, here are some reasons provided to us by locals in the know:

  • Great Theater - The Old Globe's outdoor festival stage ranks as one of NTC Foundation Executive Director Alan Ziter's favorite arts experiences, while San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture Public Relations and Communications Consultant Toni Robin loves to see shows before they reach Broadway, often during trials there and at the excellent La Jolla Playhouse.
  • Fantastic Food - Las Cuatros Milpas is real San Diego. In Barrio Logan, very close to the convention hotel, you can stand in line to buy the most authentic Mexican food in the city, and then eat at the nearby picnic tables.  
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Stuart Keeler

Salon des Refuses - Sights Unseen

Posted by Stuart Keeler, Jun 17, 2010


Stuart Keeler

What has been realized?...What has been dreamt and yet still a reality in the eye of the artist? In a true honouring of the precedent of the original Paris - Salon, 133 artists have been accepted into the Salon des Refuses - Sights Unseen, from 4 continents, 11 countries, ranging from well established artists; Janet Echleman, Mierle Laderman Ukeles to Vito Acconi and Buster Simpson  -  to emerging artists and newly minted unknowns engaging the sphere of public art with strong aesthetics of performance, process and thinking that represents a new dynamic in to address art in public space.

After reviewing ALL of the submissions and reading the narratives provided, my only question is this: What is the future of public art when great ideas are not realized? Can temporary site interventions now take a forefront to spur change and build a dialogue about art with communities? How can artists and vision be supported in new ways that might catapult the aesthetics of art in public space and help the jury process/curatorial choices become about amazing art? What about video and new media...not so new - yet, we are all new to the experience, and the viewers in all communities and neighborhoods value the same thing, to be thought of with a meaningful dialogue. 

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Americans for the Arts

Baltimore Staff Picks: Best Cultural Activities

Posted by Americans for the Arts, May 26, 2010


Americans for the Arts

American Style Magazine goes ga-ga about Baltimore in its May issue listing favorite picks. The Americans for the Arts staff and colleagues in the region have put together some of their Baltimore favorites too--to help attendees at this year's Annual Convention. This first blog post covers Cultural Activities in Baltimore:

Bird Plaza at the American Visionary Art Museum
  • Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum and a pint for history’s sake at Annabelle Lee Tavern, shrine to all things Edgar Allen Poe
    --Kate Gibney, Americans for the Arts

  • Visiting the Baltimore Museum of Art or attending the city’s Artscape
    --Sara Hisamoto, Visit Baltimore

  • Touring the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also called the Baltimore Basilica. It's considered the masterpiece of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the "Father of American Architecture."
    --Theresa Cameron, Americans for the Arts

  • Get there early on a Saturday you can see a show in the center of the Harbor. Normally magic, clowns and singers.
    --Angel Baker, Americans for the Arts

  • Walter's Art Museum (one of the best decorative arts collections in the world)
    --Karen Newell, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation

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