Public Art Conference Archive—2002

Session Notes: Developing Opportunities for Artists

Presenters:
Eloise Damrosch, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland
Kerry Kennedy, Broward County Cultural Affairs Council, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Session Notes Recorded by Janet Clough

This session’s experienced presenters shared with the delegates some specific programs their agencies have used to develop opportunities for artists.

Ms. Kennedy began with a brief description of the South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowships for Visual and Media Artists. These are non-matching fellowships of $15,000 awarded to selected professional visual and media artists from an area consisting of five southern Florida counties.These grants are to be used by the individual artists according to their needs to improve artistic skills and encourage career development.

Next, an innovative approach to introducing studio artists to the realm of public art was the creation of an intensive training workshop focusing on public art and design. This workshop’s extensive curriculum included perspectives on public art, artist selection procedures, design review and development, fabrication, construction, and installation, as well as all the professional and administrative things the art needs to know from contractual agreements to budgeting and much more.

The Duane Hanson Allied Artist Award established in 1994, provides local artists the opportunity to assist experienced artists commissioned for major projects of $50,000 or more by the Public Art and Design Program, in order to gain the technical and administrative expertise necessary to compete within the field of public art. The funding for this award is based on a percentage of the project commission, at the discretion of the Public Art and Design Committee. This actually teams an artist who is often a studio, but not yet a public artist with a professional and experienced public artist. Ms. Kennedy shared the benefits of this program as well as some of the difficulties that they are addressing. Written guidelines are needed for the development of each Allied intern’s contractual agreement with a project artist. Artists who have participated in this program feel that the experience has made them more aware and that their aesthetics have changed because of it. Most valuable, the artists have learned to expect the unexpected.

Slides were presented that showed the progressions and changes in the artists’ works as a result of the Allied award and the opportunity to work with experienced project artists. After this experience, the intern artist’s vision was expanded, he/she had a better knowledge of design, codes and regulations, how to present a budget, preparation of markettes, and the importance of community outreach.

The Regional Arts and Culture Council in Portland, is a private non-profit arts council whose primary funding for public arts projects comes from percent for art dollars. Aware that young emerging artists don’t often get commissions, the council offers professional development workshops for artists. Topics addressed have included: creating community murals, copyright issues, making your art permanent—fabrication alternatives for 2-D artists, A-Z on the public art process, grant writing, and more. These workshops are taught by highly qualified and respected professionals in their specific fields. Registration fees for these workshops are extremely low so that they are easily affordable for young artists.

For each of the projects discussed, Ms. Damrosch showed slides of representative works.

The Visual Arts Chronicle—Each year a two dimensional work of art that depicts Portland is commissioned. Some years there has been a theme and other years the work has been abstract. Occasionally the work selected is portable so that it can be moved around to different public spaces. The selected artist who is chosen by a panel is paid $7500. This has been a good opportunity for involving new artists.

In Situ Portland—This grant was designed to place challenging temporary artworks into the public realm to serve as catalysts for dialogue about art and/or community issues. The program funds three projects annually ($7500 each) with a maximum duration for an installation of one year. These projects have been innovative and have made residents think about how they see their community.

Another temporary installation opportunity is in the alcove in the Arts Council’s office lobby. For an honorarium of $750, an artist is selected and given this alcove in which to do an installation that will remain there for one month. A great aspect of a temporary installation such as this is the element of surprise. There is always something new and provocative to see in this space.

The Airport Project was one that required a community component. It offered an open call for artists to do wall works, paint on site, and be paid for it. The project also included glass display cases out of which items could be sold.

Intersections, an artist in residence program, is designed to explore the “art of work” and “work of art.” Artists in all disciplines are encouraged to explore new working methods and to develop socially engaging, interactive arts experiences in community settings. A panel chooses two qualified artists based on semi-finalists’ plans to “intersect” with county facilities, staff, and services.

The Zoo—Light Rail Project had a curator who selected eighteen artists to paint noise abatement fences erected to cut down on the railway noise inside the zoo. Donations to the project from the engineers, construction company, and others afforded each artist $2,000 plus supplies. Each design was approved and when all fences were completed, a museum quality catalog was created to chronicle the project.

Construction fences became popular “canvases” for public artists and have been painted throughout Portland.

Building painting by visual artists has helped in the revitalization of many run-down neighborhoods.

Several questions were asked at the close of the session and several delegates mentioned similar projects in their communities.

Good handouts were given on both the Broward County and the Portland programs and projects.