Ms. Patricia Walsh

You Can Survive Unemployment in the Arts

Posted by Ms. Patricia Walsh, Nov 30, 2020


Ms. Patricia Walsh

The 2020 economic collapse has been compared to the Great Depression by economists—and the arts and culture sector is not immune to the financial devastation impacting many sectors across the U.S.  Since March, Americans for the Arts has continually tracked the financial impact across the arts sector. As of Nov. 16, 35% of nonprofit arts organizations have had to lay off or furlough staff, and 10% are not confident they will survive the pandemic. The Great Recession of the late 2000s had a direct impact on my employment as the public art coordinator for the City of San Jose, California. The public art funding was tied up with other municipal funds, including bond projects and general funding. By the 2011 budget cycle the city realized that to cover its financial needs, hundreds of their employees were going to have to be let go, and yours truly was swept up in that massive layoff. It took me over a year and a half to find full time work again. During that time, I learned some things that I hope can help some of you out there who may be facing the prospect of unemployment or have already lost a job.

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Ms. Patricia Walsh

Community Engagement in the Time of COVID-19

Posted by Ms. Patricia Walsh, Mar 25, 2020


Ms. Patricia Walsh

With social distancing practices supported by many medical professionals and government agencies to help slow the COVID-19 pandemic, limitations on public gatherings are good for public health but can provide a challenge for public art administrators to keep projects on schedule. Generally, public art community engagement practices aim to build connections and strengthen communication with stakeholder groups related to a project’s location or themes, or as part of oversight for public art programs. Communities engaged through public art include residential groups, local stakeholders, arts commissions, and others; and canceling or postponing events may hinder the development of public art projects. This blog post aims to provide insight, resources, and recommendations to maintain community engagement for public art projects and programs as we all work to promote health and safety in our communities. 

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Ms. Patricia Walsh

Welcome to the 2019 PAN Year in Review Blog Salon!

Posted by Ms. Patricia Walsh, Aug 12, 2019


Ms. Patricia Walsh

Public art directly influences how people see and connect with a place, providing access to aesthetics that support its identity and making residents feel appreciated and valued. Considering what positive impact public art can have on communities, in this year’s Public Art Network (PAN) Year in Review blog salon we asked our authors to consider: How did their project enhance the community? In what ways was the community engaged, either during the development of the artworks or after? What positive impact did the project have on the community? This week, we will hear from several artists and administrators whose selected projects for the 2019 PAN Year in Review engaged or impacted the community for whom the project was created.

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Ms. Patricia Walsh


Kimberly O’Keeffe

The Importance and Impact of Planning for Public Art

Posted by Ms. Patricia Walsh, Kimberly O’Keeffe, Dec 18, 2018


Ms. Patricia Walsh


Kimberly O’Keeffe

There is a growing interest in public art from across the country. In the Public Art Programs Fiscal Year 2001 report, Americans for the Arts estimated 350 public art programs across the U.S. The 2017 Survey of Public Art Programs identified more than twice as many. With this growth it is important to understand the various ways public art is planned for and implemented in different communities. In this post, we provide an overview of three papers published by Americans for the Arts that speak to the diverse needs of public art programs across the country, and how local institutions are approaching the topic in innovative ways. With a focus on planning for public art from a municipal perspective, growing public art programs in small to mid-sized cities, and recognizing grassroots and folk art in rural communities, these papers show that successful public art values local context and the public art programs are as unique as each community.

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Ms. Patricia Walsh

Five Reasons Why Public Art Matters

Posted by Ms. Patricia Walsh, Aug 30, 2018


Ms. Patricia Walsh

Public art matters to me because I see it as a platform for civic dialogue and as the most democratic of art forms. When done well, a public artwork engages citizens in conversation that can vary from understanding historical and cultural backgrounds, to driving attachment to place and social cohesion. In a world struggling with new ways to connect, public art can make public spaces more approachable. In June of this year, Americans for the Arts worked in collaboration with the 2018 Public Art Network (PAN) Advisory Council to launch “Why Public Art Matters” to provide the field with a tool to help educate community members, local decision makers, and other stakeholders on the value that public art can bring to cities and towns. The resource document provides talking points, reasons, data, and examples of how public art can positively impact a community in five specific areas.

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Ms. Patricia Walsh

Welcome to the 2018 PAN Year in Review Blog Salon!

Posted by Ms. Patricia Walsh, Aug 13, 2018


Ms. Patricia Walsh

This year, 49 projects from across the United States and Canada were selected for the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network Year in Review. Each year, three jurors review hundreds of applications to highlight up to 50 public art projects that represent the most compelling work for the year. As part of that recognition, we invited the artists and commissioning agencies to submit blogs for this salon, telling us about lessons they learned and giving us a peek at what it takes to develop a successful public art project. This week on ARTSblog, we present you with posts from half a dozen different perspectives, reflecting on anything from the administrative challenges of public art projects, to the artistic thought processes that brought us these amazing works.

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Ms. Patricia Walsh

Building Capacity for Creative Placemaking

Posted by Ms. Patricia Walsh, Feb 20, 2018


Ms. Patricia Walsh

Creative placemaking has been an ongoing discussion in cities and towns across the country for several years, but where do planners sit in this dialogue? What role does a planner have in the development of a creative placemaking strategy? How can planners incorporate creative placemaking ideas into their projects? Or encourage communities to implement these kinds of projects? Americans for the Arts has partnered with the American Planning Association, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Area Planning Council and The Townscape Institute, on a National Endowment for the Arts funded project to develop a suite of curated resources to assist planners in understanding how arts and culture can impact their work. The tools developed in this project will live as a Knowledgebase on APA’s website, accessible to all who are interested in implementing creative placemaking projects.

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Ms. Patricia Walsh

Monument to Change

Posted by Ms. Patricia Walsh, Jan 16, 2018


Ms. Patricia Walsh

Over the past year, public monuments have been scrutinized and reviewed: What are the roles of these artworks? What relevance do they play in history? In contemporary culture? And, what do they say about the community where they are located? Richmond, Virginia has been looking at their monuments and considering what is missing for quite some time. As Americans for the Arts was looking to enhance the tools we offer to the public art field, the story of a new monument to civil rights activist Maggle L. Walker in Richmond proved to be an ideal subject for a short-form documentary video.

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Ms. Patricia Walsh

Removing Public Artworks: Process and Policies are Key

Posted by Ms. Patricia Walsh, Aug 24, 2017


Ms. Patricia Walsh

In the art world, deaccession is generally defined as permanently removing a work of art from a collection. Art museums, libraries, and other collecting institutions may use a deaccession process to remove pieces from their collections for a variety of reasons. Because of the nuances of municipalities and other public agencies that commission or own artworks, the processes for removing artworks from their collections aren’t easily transferable from their museum or library counterparts. There is still research to done on best practices for deaccessioning a public artwork, but we do know that a thoughtful process is key to addressing the issues that surround an artwork being considered for removal.

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Ms. Patricia Walsh

Dear Public Art Colleagues: We Stand With You

Posted by Ms. Patricia Walsh, Aug 18, 2017


Ms. Patricia Walsh

This has been a trying week for the public art field across the country. I have heard from many of you, expressing concerns and challenges as your communities turn to you for aide in addressing Confederate memorials and symbols in your public arenas. Please know that you are not alone in your work. The conversations and community meetings that have happened and will happen are necessary for our country to move forward. Your role is essential to your community, and we are here to support you.

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Ms. Patricia Walsh

Welcome to the 2017 PAN Year in Review Blog Salon!

Posted by Ms. Patricia Walsh, Aug 14, 2017


Ms. Patricia Walsh

Annually, the PAN Year in Review recognizes outstanding public art projects that represent the most compelling work for the year from across the country. This week on ARTSblog, we present you with posts from more than a dozen different perspectives, reflecting on anything from the administrative challenges of public art projects to the artistic thought processes that brought us these amazing works.

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Mr. Jeff M. Poulin


Ms. Patricia Walsh

The Intersection of Public Art and Arts Education

Posted by Mr. Jeff M. Poulin, Ms. Patricia Walsh, May 04, 2015


Mr. Jeff M. Poulin


Ms. Patricia Walsh

Across the country, the arts are changing: demographics are shifting, modes of artistic participation are becoming more diverse, and once segmented artistic practices are converging. These changes ring true for both public art and arts education, and over the past year these respective fields have been discussing their convergence.

The Public Art and Arts Education Programs at Americans for the Arts endeavor to explore this intersection, better understand the potential for collaborations, and create tools and resources for encouraging inter-sector cooperation.

As a first step, we have begun to research the shared space. There is an inherent connection between the intrinsic goals of both areas of artistic study and practice.

Public art and arts education have been collaborating informally throughout the past several decades, however as we move towards more formalized practices, the professionalization of both fields, and the siloed funding structures, it is vital to explicitly explore modes of integration and examples of best practices that can inform both arts professionals and decisions makers.

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Ms. Patricia Walsh

Round-up for Aspirations and Reflections: Emerging Leaders in Public Art Administration

Posted by Ms. Patricia Walsh, Sep 08, 2014


Ms. Patricia Walsh

What a great week filled with aspirations and reflections from emerging leaders in the public art field!

Thank you to all of our bloggers who made this salon a success by sharing their thoughts and inspiration for their thoughts and inspirations on their careers and the future of the public art field.

Reading these posts throughout the week has given light to some of the great talent that will be guiding the future of public art. We heard from Kati Stegall reflecting on how we can keep up with the changes happening throughout the country and from Meredith Frazier Britt, an up-and-coming city planner who is eager to work with public art (we need more of her!)

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Ms. Patricia Walsh

Aspirations and Reflections: Emerging Leaders in Public Art Administration

Posted by Ms. Patricia Walsh, Sep 02, 2014


Ms. Patricia Walsh

"Champion Flock Weed Eaters," 2011 YIR and a former project of Patricia Walsh's. Photo: Jed Berk "Champion Flock Weed Eaters," by Jed Berk. 2011 YIR Winner, managed by Patricia Walsh.

 

As Norie Sato asked in her “Is Public Art Dead?” blog back in May, “Public art as we know it […]is getting to be more than 40 years old. Programs are celebrating 30, 40, 50 years of existence. It is no longer a new thought, no longer exciting in its promise, reach and approach…or is it?

Throughout her blog post she contemplates some of the trends that have been plaguing the field as it has developed over the past half century. This week during the Emerging Leaders in Public Art Administration Blog Salon we will hear from the next generation of public art administrators who are eager to move the field forward in the next evolution of public art as we continue onward into the 21st Century.

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Ms. Patricia Walsh

Behind the Scene: Public Art Network (PAN) Year in Review 2015

Posted by Ms. Patricia Walsh, Aug 24, 2015


Ms. Patricia Walsh

This year marked the 15th anniversary of the Public Art Network (PAN) Year in Review, which annually recognizes outstanding public art projects that represent the most compelling work for the year from across the country. Over the years we have had over a thousand applications. Each year, a jury of up to three art professionals reviewed and selected projects to highlight. This week we are posting blogs directly from those involved in the creation of the projects in PAN Year in Review selected by our three art professionals, Peggy Kendellen (Public Art Program Manager at the Regional Arts & Cultural Council) Laurie Jo Reynolds (artist) and Ernest C. Wong (landscape architecture and urban planning professional) and presented on June 11th at the Americans for the Arts Public Art & Placemaking Preconference in Chicago.

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