Enter the 2016 CODAawards!

Deadline Is May 31

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Americans for the Arts is partnering with CODAworx, a global online community for commissioned artists and designers, for this year’s annual CODAawards program. The CODAawards celebrate design projects that demonstrate the most successful integration of commissioned art into an interior, architectural, or public space.


Andrew Nordin


Lisa Bergh

“Looking at the world through a windshield.”

Posted by Andrew Nordin, Lisa Bergh, Aug 27, 2015


Andrew Nordin


Lisa Bergh

•   5,997 miles driven

•   11 events

•   17 Minnesota Artists

•   8 Communities

•   50 cups of gas station coffee

•   0 flat tires

•   25 fish

Living in a rural, pastoral location can ironically promotes restlessness. One typical requirement about living in a small town and wanting to experience art is that one must travel to IT, whatever it might be.

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Ms. Helen M. Lessick

A Catalyst for Art: Jessica Cusick

Posted by Ms. Helen M. Lessick, Mar 28, 2016


Ms. Helen M. Lessick

Jessica Cusick retired as the Manager of the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Department on March 3, 2016. Starting the job in 2005 she took a staff of three and grew it into a powerhouse of 21 to serve a city of 90,000 residents. She also created municipal programs through planning, policy, creative communities, public art and artist residencies to bring the work of writers and coders, planners and planters, poets and visual artists free to city audiences.

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David Franklin

How to Succeed at Public Art when everything goes wrong

Posted by David Franklin, Aug 25, 2015


David Franklin

I can now say that twice en route to a major installation I have looked at the person or people I was bringing with me to help, and said something to the effect of, “the worst thing that can happen is when we get there, we can’t work…”  I should probably stop saying things like this because both times it came true. The first time the problem was resolved by some cable rigging, come-alongs, crawling around a mud puddle and hanging off a small cliff to make it all work. The second time was on the way to install The Rippling Wall.

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Liesel Fenner

My Sweet Tooth for Public Art

Posted by Liesel Fenner, Feb 15, 2013


Liesel Fenner

Liesel Fenner Liesel Fenner

 

We had a variety of best practices covered during our annual Public Art Network (PAN) Blog Salon this week. Let’s wrap it all up with a major thanks to our 'lucky' 13 bloggers who shared their experience and lessons-learned of best practices from across the country. According to Jimmy LeFlore’s post, we can have cake and eat it, too. If only public art were so easy to produce: mix ingredients, stir, set timer for one hour, ding, it’s done! And cake baking requires partners as Jessica Cusick espoused, for the creation of all public art ‘Takes a Village!’ However, as Jimmy also said, we can’t eat our cake if we don’t if we go to the (best practices) gym. Other lessons covered this week included:


Nadine Wasserman

Year in Review, Public Art Network preconference

Posted by Nadine Wasserman, Jun 14, 2013


Nadine Wasserman

Nadine Wasserman Nadine Wasserman

Each year as a highlight of the Public Art Network’s preconference, a panel of jurors presents its selection of exemplary public art projects from the previous year. The 2013 Year in Review jurors were Justine Topfer, Curator, Out of the Box Projects & Project Manager, San Francisco Arts Commission, CA; Norie Sato, Artist, Seattle, WA; and John Carson, Artist and Head of the School of Art, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA.From 350 submissions they selected 50 that were completed in 2012.

Since 2000, PAN’s Year in Review uses an open call submission process from which the panel selects up to 50 projects that represent the most compelling works from across the country. This year’s jury prefaced their presentation by explaining that although they had different points of view they agreed on all of the choices and were careful to recuse themselves during the deliberations from those projects where there had conflicts of interest.

In their introduction, the panel explained that this year they noticed an increased number of projects using light and technology, an interesting trend towards multiple or groups of artists working on one project, and the use of different funding sources with an increase in the number of projects initiated and funded by private developers. They also noted that there were fewer land-based projects and that in general it seems that the field is getting broader.

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Tim Mikulski

Public Art Year in Review Spotlight - "Your Essential Magnificence" in Austin, TX

Posted by Tim Mikulski, Mar 27, 2013


Tim Mikulski

Americans for the Arts' Public Art Network Year in Review program is the only national program that specifically recognizes public art projects. Up to 50 projects are selected annually through an open-call application process and selected by two to three jurors. The projects are available on CD-Rom in our bookstore and include a PowerPoint, data and project list, and hundreds of project photos.

Our 2013 Public Art Year in Review nomination process is open through April 5, so be sure to nominate a project as we continue spotlight former honorees on ARTSblog.

Today's project is Your Essential Magnificence by James Edward Talbot which was honored in 2012.

"Your Essential Magnificence" by James Edward Talbot "Your Essential Magnificence" by James Edward Talbot (Photo by Philip Rogers)

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Tim Mikulski

Public Art Year in Review Spotlight - "The Peanut Farmer" in Colquitt, GA

Posted by Tim Mikulski, Mar 08, 2013


Tim Mikulski

Americans for the Arts' Public Art Network Year in Review program is the only national program that specifically recognizes public art projects. Up to 50 projects are selected annually through an open-call application process and selected by two to three jurors. The projects are available on CD-Rom in our bookstore and include a PowerPoint, data and project list, and hundreds of project photos.

Our 2013 Public Art Year in Review nomination process is now open through April 5, so be sure to nominate a project as we continue spotlight former honorees on ARTSblog.

Today's project is The Peanut Farmer which was honored in 2012.

"The Peanut Farmer" by Charles Johnston "The Peanut Farmer" by Charles Johnston

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Tim Mikulski

Public Art Year in Review Spotlight - "From Here to There: High Trestle Trail Bridge" in Madrid, IA

Posted by Tim Mikulski, Feb 27, 2013


Tim Mikulski

Americans for the Arts' Public Art Network Year in Review program is the only national program that specifically recognizes public art projects. Up to 50 projects are selected annually through an open-call application process and selected by two to three jurors. The projects are available on CD-Rom in our bookstore and include a PowerPoint, data and project list, and hundreds of project photos. With our 2013 Public Art Year in Review nomination process slated to open later this month, we will be spotlighting a few former winners on ARTSblog.

Today's project is From Here to There: High Trestle Trail Bridge which was honored in 2012.

Photo by Kun Zhang Photo by Kun Zhang

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Tim Mikulski

Public Art Year in Review Spotlight: "Community Garden" in Bronx, NY

Posted by Tim Mikulski, Feb 04, 2013


Tim Mikulski

Americans for the Arts' Public Art Network Year in Review program is the only national program that specifically recognizes public art projects. Up to 50 projects are selected annually through an open-call application process and selected by two to three jurors. The projects are available on CD-Rom in our bookstore and include a PowerPoint, data and project list, and hundreds of project photos. With our 2013 Public Art Year in Review nomination process slated to open later this month, we will be spotlighting a few former winners on ARTSblog.

Today's project is Community Garden which was honored in 2007. The project is a glass mosaic mural located on the mezzanine wall at the Bedford Boulevard Subway Station in The Bronx, NY. The imagery depicts a fantasy garden of colorful, larger than life-sized fruits, vines, insects, and animals. Through artist Andrea Dezsö's garden, the community is able to experience colors and shapes that are different from those predominantly found in the area. Her garden delights commuters, inspiring them with the playfulness missing from their urban environment.

Photo by Rob Wilson for MTA Arts for Transit. Photo by Rob Wilson for MTA Arts for Transit.

Check out more photos of Community Garden below and remember to nominate a project in your area when we open up our nominations for the 2013 Year in Review!

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Liesel Fenner

PAN-OUT — A Broad View of the 2012 Public Art Network Preconference

Posted by Liesel Fenner, Jun 14, 2012


Liesel Fenner

Liesel Fenner

2012 marks my tenth Americans for the Arts Public Art Preconference, six of which I have planned and orchestrated over the years with the help of Public Art Network (PAN) Council members and local hosts.

This year proved to be another shining star, aptly-hosted in the Lone Star state of Texas and San Antonio, a sparkling gem of creative community that rolled out the red carpet for us.

Held at Pearl, Preconference attendees were greeted to hearty breakfast tacos (localvore favorite) and iced coffee, in preparation for the 90 degree-plus predicted temperatures. Newcomers were welcomed to an orientation in Pearl’s Center for Architecture, the American Institute of Architects local chapter office with crisp-geometric interiors offering flexible meeting space (everything on casters) for PAN’s breakout sessions throughout the day.

Attendees trekked across the Pearl campus to the nearby historic Stable, an oval-shaped plan once housing up to 70 horses, today hosting 270 Preconference attendees! Texas hosts, Martha Peters of the Ft. Worth Public Art Program and PAN Council member and Jimmy LeFlore of Public Art San Antonio, led everyone in a rousing welcome.

Representatives of the PAN Council presented a state-of-the-field report highlighting critical issues the Council is addressing including: public art and quality of life, evaluation, and social practices and community engagement.

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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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Liesel Fenner

Get Honored for Your Work

Posted by Liesel Fenner, Apr 15, 2011


Liesel Fenner

Every Beating Second

Every Beating Second

Former PAN Council member and Year in Review Award winner, Janet Echelman’s Every Beating Second, just premiered at Terminal 2 in the San Francisco Airport. Additional SFO artworks will be highlighted in the Travelers as Cultural Audience Public Art Preconference Session.

While all of that work is already being spotlighted at this year's Americans for the Arts Annual Convention, you still have time to share that spotlight.

The 2011 Public Art Network Year in Review is accepting project submissions until next Friday, April 22, 2011.  

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