Partnering with Public Art Fund
Extending our core mission to present dynamic exhibitions by the world’s most compelling artists and make culture accessible to all, Public Art Fund: Creative Partnerships brings strategic planning, curatorial advisory, project management, and communications expertise to leading cultural institutions, corporations, and civic organizations across the globe. Through these collaborations, Public Art Fund commissions permanent installations and temporary exhibitions in line with the unique vision of our partners and the specific parameters of each site, resulting in powerful new artworks that activate public spaces, create engaged constituencies, and amplify the impact of our partners’ own initiatives through public art.
What We Offer
45+ YEARS OF PUBLIC ART EXPERTISE
Drawing upon five decades of complex public projects, we provide unparalleled access to leading artists and specialists, emerging talent, and learned lessons working in the built environment.
STRONG COLLABORATIVE APPROACH
Through our careful and detailed process, we work with all stakeholders to establish shared goals and consider all impacts of art commissions.
STARTING WITH THE SITE
We emphasize and rigorously research each location – its function, history, and context. When artists respond to these attributes of a site, powerful and relevant experiences emerge.
DEEP CONNECTIONS TO LEADING ARTISTS
We work with diverse artists across the globe, leading to unprecedented works that extend their practice into new realms.
VALUES AT THE CENTER
Our commitment to diversity, equity, access, and inclusion deeply informs our projects and process.
ARCHITECTURAL INTEGRATION
Early involvement with project teams helps bridge architectural and engineering realities with artist visions, resulting in efficiencies and easier execution.
More About Our Services
CREATIVE VISIONING AND CURATORIAL STRATEGY: We believe that a successful Art Program captures and responds to the unique attributes and potential of a site. Our work begins with building a clear curatorial strategy that distills and articulates the partner’s key objectives. We integrate in-depth research into the physical attributes, broader history and cultural context of the location. The outcome is a compelling Curatorial Strategic Plan, which may be offered as a standalone service or as the initiation of a comprehensive Art Program implementation.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT: We consult with a range of stakeholders to ensure that the Art Program development is informed by a rich understanding of the aspirations and perspectives of those most involved.
COMMUNICATION AND IN-PROCESS DOCUMENTATION: Maximize engagement and visibility of the art program by formulating and implementing a media outreach strategy, delivering work-in-progress film/photo documentation, identifying opportunities for social media engagement, and creating pathways for community involvement.
ARTIST SELECTION: Drawing on extensive research and an incomparable national and international network, Public Art Fund’s curatorial team advises on artist selection, often for review by an appointed Selection Committee.
ARTIST LIAISON: Serve as the main point of connection with selected artists throughout the proposal development and fabrication process to ensure smooth delivery.
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT: Support all levels of project design and fabrication, including developing renderings, coordinating fabricator shop visits, and sharing detailed progress reports.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Negotiate contracts, advise on budget and timeline, support with relevant certifications, and work directly with artist studios and production teams.
INSTALLATION AND PROJECT COMPLETION: Develop installation plan, coordinate shipping of artworks, consult on work and site-safety plan, coordinate artist, gallery, and stakeholder sign off on the artwork. Advise on ongoing artwork maintenance planning to ensure longevity and continued impact for future generations.
INTERPRETATION AND AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT: Provide art interpretation and education expertise to engage audiences, translate artistic concepts for everyday understanding, create community engagement initiatives, develop digital content and on-site signage, manage installation photography/videography, and provide comprehensive communications support.
Frequently Asked Questions
Public art has the power to spark joy, curiosity, and connection to place for a wide range of people, ensuring that diverse audiences can access new forms of expression, ideas, and perspectives, anytime, for free. Artworks have the potential to stop busy passersby in their tracks and bring about a serendipitous moment of discovery, serenity, and inspiration in the middle of their day. Public art also plays a critical role in building whole and healthy cities and communities. It is an essential part of our urban environment—forging connections, reflecting the conversations of our time, and creating thought-provoking encounters embedded into the fabric of our cities.
Public art commissions have unique considerations, challenges, and opportunities—when executed well, they can make an immense impact on community engagement and public space. Public Art Fund serves as a trusted partner to navigate the entire process of a public art project from ideation to close-out, bringing a strong curatorial vision, deep industry knowledge and expertise, and full project management offerings to our Creative Partners. We have a rich history of bringing 500+ ambitious and inspiring public art projects to life over the course of 45+ years, with a deep knowledge of how to communicate with stakeholders and create inspiring results. On our roster are a range of groundbreaking projects with renowned global artists including Keith Haring, Richard Serra, Guerrilla Girls, and Ai Weiwei, as well as architecturally ambitious commissions like Olafur Eliasson’s “New York City Waterfalls” (2008), Tatzu Nishi’s “Discovering Columbus” (2012), Tauba Auerbach’s “Flow Separation” (2019), and “Messages to the Public” (1982–1990). We have successfully collaborated with leading cultural institutions, corporations, and civic organizations across the globe, including Terminal A at Newark International Airport, Moynihan Train Hall, Lincoln Center, and Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport.
Public Art Fund partners with cultural institutions, corporations, and civic organizations across the globe. Although partners vary in size and function, they share a vision of developing public art projects that enrich civic space and engage and welcome audiences of diverse backgrounds. Our partners do not necessarily possess any public art experience or expertise, but they are open to the creative possibilities of a space and are invested in inclusive cultural experiences. On a practical level, our partners also initiate the project with enough runway and budget for ambitious and high-quality public artworks.
We serve as a trusted guide, leading the art commissioning process from start to finish, and tailor each project to fit our partners’ unique needs. Throughout the process of creating memorable and engaging public art installations, Public Art Fund is able to serve as a consultant for all major phases of a project, including curatorial vision and strategy; research and development; artist liaison engineering, fabrication and installation; and interpretation and communications. We collaborate closely with partners, contractors, artists, community members, and other stakeholders to deliver projects within an established timeline and budget. Visit our “How We Work” section to learn more.
We guide our partners in determining the best type of work to suit their needs and budgets. We also offer standalone master planning consulting for partners interested in leading their own implementation process.
Architecturally Integrated
– Surfaces: painted or tiled 2-D images on a ceiling or wall, such as Laura Owens’ I 🍕 NY
– Water: A fountain or water feature, such as Anish Kapoor: Descension
– Lighting: Skylight or light feature
– Structure: Suspended/floating structures, like Karyn Olivier’s Approach
Freestanding Sculptures: sculptures that stand independently in a space, such as Yinka Shonibare MBE: Wind Sculpture (SG) I
Distributed Sculptures: installation composed of multiple components, distributed throughout a space, such as Jeppe Hein’s All Your Wishes.
Immersive/Experiential: public art experience that integrates audience participation/movement, such as Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Speaking Willow
Digital: installations or sculptures that rotate out after a period of time, such as Jacolby Satterwhite’s An Eclectic Dance to the Music of Time.
Performance: A temporary activation of a space, such as Kate Gilmore: Walk the Walk.
Public Art Fund prioritizes placemaking and community impact as well as artistic excellence and curatorial rigor. We bring our values of accessibility and inclusion to all of our ambitious public art projects. Ultimately, our goals are shaped in partnership, and focus on making an inspiring impact in the communities we serve. As a trusted partner, we work to build a comprehensive communications and installation plan to keep all stakeholders informed and engaged. As a skilled project manager, we also take pride in delivering projects on time and on budget.
Public Art Fund’s project management, communications, curatorial, and leadership staff all contribute consultation and leading expertise to Creative Partnership projects.
There are several options for selecting an artist. We work closely with partners to determine the ideal process for their specific situation and needs. Typically, our expert curatorial team recommends artists in dialogue with a selection committee including the partner’s leadership. We work with partners to develop evaluation systems for proposals that assess an artwork’s strength of concept, artistic merit, relevance, impact, and accessibility to a broad audience.
We are invested in ensuring the longevity of permanent site-specific installations. We share detailed instructions and reports for the maintenance of the work, including cleaning and repairs.