Public Art Symposium Set for Nov 2017 Honolulu, Hawaii

​WESTAF is the manager of the online resource Public Art Archive™. Artists who have created public art and organizations who have sponsored public art can submit their portfolios to this project.

By placing works in this searchable database artists can receive greater exposure for their artwork. Organizations can use this tool to see what other public art pieces are in other communities. The vision, as we understand it, is that anyone who is interested can view this database. Therefore art lovers, both private and public, can find works that are near by, or that they want to see wherever they are.

The symposium will bring together public art administrators, directors, artists, critics, curators,

academics, and researchers to consider the future of the field. Participants will survey growing

trends and challenges and propose ways the field might develop to create a richer and more

sustainable long-term infrastructure. In addition, the symposium will inform WESTAF leadership

as it considers ways to bolster its work in the public art field.

The key subjects that will be covered at the symposium include:

• A review and analysis of existing public art policy and funding structures and an
• examination of efforts to circumvent limitations imposed by such systems
• A consideration of the challenges related to installation and preservation of public art
• A discussion of the implications of the growing use of technology in both the
• development and implementation processes of public art
• A review of growing trends in temporary public art events and an evaluation of their
• impact
• An examination of gaps in public art research
• A consideration of ways to promote better data collection
• A critique of the current state of democracy in the field

Participants at the symposium include artists, art historians, curators, people responsible for public art programs, and more. These people will be coming from many countries, including the USA, New Zealand, and Brazil. A list of some of the key participants in this symposium may be found here.

Click for more information on this public art symposium, including how you can attend or be an observer.

Sounds like a great conference–and definitely a beautiful spot to be in November!

 The Future History of Public Art poster courtesy of the Public Art Archive

Sculpture featured in the poster is “Rainbow” by Shige Yamada, 1998
photo courtesy Hawai’i State Foundation on Culture & the Arts