resources for public artists
Planning Tools: Model Programs, Case Studies, Topic Research
Art Service Directory
Search Americans for the Arts Online Service Directory to find public art programs across the country. The Public Art Program Directory is no longer in print.
Arts and Transportation: Connecting People and Culture
This book contains outstanding examples of the arts' role in Transportation Enhancement projects, with a particular emphasis on Arts Projects on Millennium Trails. The projects highlighted in this book encompass public art, interpretation, and preservation. The purpose of the book is to inspire and encourage other communities to see art as an important part of their Transportation Enhancement activities. The book is published by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. Arts Projects on Millennium Trails is a three-year initiative supported through a cooperative agreement with the National Endowment for the Arts to create community-centered arts projects as essential components of the Millennium Legacy Trails nominated by each state's governor. For more information, visit http://www.nasaa-arts.org/publications/arts_transportation.shtml. To receive a free copy of the publication, e-mail nasaa@nasaa-arts.org.
Call for Artists Resource Guide
This 17-page guide contains information published by Americans for the Arts will help you announce opportunities to artists that clearly describe projects and give artists the information they need to submit applications. Sections include sample RFP's and RFQ's, call definitions and descriptions, and a list of where to circulate artist calls.
Curriculum Kit for Public Art
The Regional Arts Commission in St. Louis, MO has developed a public art curriculum kit. Geared as a teaching tool about public art in St. Louis, it is an excellent model that can be used to inspire public art education. The kit includes prints and slides of public art, and detailed guide for teachers that includes project options. You can download the guide at www.stlpack.org.
Designing for Security: Using Art and Design to Improve Security:
Guidelines from the Art Commission of the City of New York, 2002
The result of a partnership between the Art Commission and the Design Trust for Public Space, this publication includes research on the theory and application of design to security concerns (including but not limited to an overview of CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, defensible space, threat analysis, stakeholders, and ownership) and practical examples of attractive perimeter security elements. Designing for Security cost $15 and may be ordered through the Art Commission at www.nyc.gov/artcommission.
Designing Outdoor Sculpture Today for Tomorrow
A 16-page booklet published by Save Outdoor Sculpture!, a program of Heritage Preservation and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. This booklet gives strategies for incorporating plans for conservation and maintaining outdoor artwork in the planning process. The guide identifies elements in the design process of outdoor sculpture that can result in less costly and more effective programs of care after installation. This planning guide is aimed at those outdoor sculptures intended to endure for at least 20 years. The publication is free to download at http://www.heritagepreservation.org/pubs/pubsindex.htm.
Lessons Learned: A Planning Toolsite
This free, online resource by the National Endowment for the Artist an excellent resource to consult when taking on any planning project. It is a compendium of planning advice from a variety of professional arts consultants, many of whom were associated with the NEA Advancement Program of 1980–1996. It includes an essay on public art planning by Marc Pally titled "Public Art: A Volatile Planning Environment." It is divided into chapters such as First Steps, Looking In the Mirror, and Money Matters, which include essays and case studies. The toolsite only exists online; there is no printed document. Visit the Toolsite at http://arts.endow.gov/resources/Lessons/index.html.
Methods of Artist Selection: Issue Paper
Services Committee of the Public Art Network Council has developed a 17-page issue paper that explores methods of artist selection. The paper reviews methods of artist selection, compares RFP's and RFQ's, and recommends an artsit selection method.
A New Renaissance: Contemporary Public Art Commissioning
Richard Brecknock wrote this handbook as as a practical guide to assist artists and commissioners through the process. It contains over a hundred pages of information vital to anyone planning to undertake a public art commission. It is prepared from the perspective of the artist and also addresses the needs of the client and architect. In addition to general issues such as contractual matters and seeking commissioning opportunities, there are chapters covering the commissioning and fabrication processes. $30.00 (Australian) plus shipping and handling. To order, contact Brecknock Consulting, PO Box 8126, Station Arcade, Hindley Street, Adelaide 5000, Australia, www.brecknockconsulting.com.au. T: 08.8231.1700, F: 08.8321.0020, e-mail: richard@brecknockconsulting.com.au.
Public Art Programs Fiscal Year 2001
The publication is a detailed statistical report on the budgets and programming of the nation’s public art programs during fiscal year 2001. Hard facts about the field of public art and its administration are hard to find; Public Art Programs Fiscal Year 2001 is the most comprehensive study of public art programs nationwide. This detailed report presents complete results of the Public Art Program Survey developed by the Public Art Network. In the report, you’ll find information about public art revenue sources and budget history, composition of artist selection panels, details about how public art programs are staffed, and more about the nuts and bolts of public art administration. It is a must read for any community looking to develop a public art program as well as existing programs who want to investigate how they compare to other programs nationwide. The 56-page report, available in the Americans for the Arts Online Store, is $10 for Americans for the Arts members, $15 for nonmembers.
Public Art: Process and Product
A video written, directed, and produced by Vincent Ahern, the Coordinator for Public Art at the University of South Florida, presents a clear and direct overview of the process for realizing site-specific public art works. The video uses the works commissioned at USF through Florida's Art In State Buildings Program as a foundation to discuss each part of the process. Topics include developing a program, selection of an artist, expanding a budget, program management, documentation, and conservation. Interviews with prominent artists and arts professionals, including Elyn Zimmerman, Ned Smyth, Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz, John Weber, and Max Protech. Color, 30 minutes, 1998. $16.99, includes shipping and handling. To order, contact Vincent Ahern, Coordinator of Public Art, University of South Florida, Contemporary Art Museum, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, CAM 101, Tampa, Florida 33620-7360, T: 813-974-4333, F: 813-974-5130, E: vahern@satie.arts.usf.edu
Public Art Reference Manual
This manual contains policies and procedures of 11 California public art programs. It was published by the California Arts Council in 1993. To order, contact the California Arts Council, 1300 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, T: 916.322.6555, F: 916.322.6575.