|
 Public art fits a much broader definition than art in a gallery or a museum. In simple terms, public art is any work of art or design that is created by an artist specifically to be sited in a public space. It can tower several stories high, or it can call attention to the pavement beneath your feet. It can be cast, carved, built, assembled or painted. Whatever its form, public art attracts attention. By its presence alone public art can heighten our awareness, question our assumptions, transform a landscape, or express community values, and for these reasons it can have the power, over time to transform a city’s image. Public art helps define an entire community’s identity and reveal the unique character of a specific neighborhood. It is a unifying force.
Why Public Art?
The impact of public art on a community is priceless and immeasurable and once experienced it only appreciates. Public art has the power to energize our public spaces, arouse our thinking, and transform the places where we live, work, and play into more welcoming and beautiful environments that invite interaction. Public art can make strangers talk, children ask questions, and calm a hurried life. It enhances the quality of life by encouraging a heightened sense of place and by introducing people to works of art that can touch them and generations to come.
The Many Benefits of Public Art
Beyond its enriching personal benefits, public art is a true symbol of a city’s maturity. It increases a community’s assets and expresses a community’s positive sense of identity and values. It helps green space thrive, enhances roadsides, pedestrian corridors, and community gateways; it demonstrates unquestionable civic and corporate pride in citizenship and affirms an educational environment. A city with public art is a city that thinks and feels.
Public Art Funding
Funding public art is a wide-open endeavor. It can be funded by state, local or federal governments. It also offers funding opportunities for percent-for-art programs, public agencies, the general public, individuals, churches, educational institutions, museums, hospitals, corporations, and private foundations. Public art is a community-wide mission with no boundaries for participation and sponsorship.
|
