GroundWork: Public Art Consulting Intensive

Do you want to build the skills needed to become a public art consultant? GroundWork is a four-day intensive offered by Forecast for IBPOC (Indigenous and/or Black, and/or Persons of Color) who live in Minnesota and are collaborative, innovative leaders interested in the arts, artists, and playing a role in making positive change in communities.

Public art consultants help connect the ideas, energies, and talents of artists with the needs and opportunities of communities and client groups. They facilitate the commissioning of new artwork, identify and curate public artists, produce and manage public events, design and implement community engagement efforts, develop public art plans for public and private developers, and more.

Public agencies and private entities rely increasingly on public art consultants to help guide and facilitate projects and processes to help ensure successful public art and placemaking outcomes. Investment in arts and cultural initiatives continue to grow throughout the country, especially in cities and towns addressing arts and place-based development.

Nationally there is a lack of IBPOC in the public art consulting field. Forecast seeks to fill existing gaps in the field of public art consulting through GroundWork, providing opportunities in consulting work and preparing a more diverse network of consultants to help shape the future of public art and place-based work in cities and communities.

This intensive will offer an overview of the public art consulting world, including: types of work available in this field, the broad range of projects Forecast engages, an understanding of how your strengths, perspectives, and skills can be maximized within the field.

GroundWork is designed for IBPOC who live in Minnesota with experience in the arts and/or related sectors of the community, including but not limited to: public art, design and architecture, planning, community-engaged arts, community organizing, creative placemaking, economic development, education, environmental justice, health care, housing, native nations, public policy, public systems, youth development.

This professional level training is provided free of cost to all participants thanks to a generous Arts Access grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board.

Following this intensive, participants will have the opportunity to apply to gain paid on-the-ground experience working on a current Forecast project in 2019. Number of hours will vary by project and participant availability. 

 

ABOUT GROUNDWORK

Topics Covered

• The role of a public art consultant
• Client/stakeholder relationships
• Project analysis and evaluation
• Basic consulting techniques
• Legal and contracting considerations

 

Participants

We are so inspired by our inaugural class of 34 amazing, multi-talented people who identify as artists, professionals, administrators, creators, dancers, musicians, producers, educators, writers, poets, performers, curators, organizers, connectors, aspiring ethnomusicologists, muralists, photojournalists, photographers, graphic designers, and more. In alphabetical order by first name:

• Aki Shibata
• Andres Perez
• Anne Gomez
• Brian Few Jr.
• Candida Gonzalez
• Caron Learned
• Christopheraaron Deanes
• Delina White
• Donna Ray
• Eric Avery
• Hawona Sullivan Janzen
• Jonathan van Arneman
• karen savage blue
• Katherine Beecham
• Maia Maiden
• Marcus Young
• Maria Cristina (“Tina”) Tavera
• Maya Beecham
• Mayumi Amada
• Mayumi Park
• Meena Mangalvedhekar
• Natasha Pugh
• Olivia Levins Holden
• Rebekah Crisanta de Ybarra
• Ritika Ganguly
• Robyne Robinson
• Sandy’Ci Moua
• Seena Hodges
• Sohini Ghosh
• Susan Smith-Grier
• teeko yang
• Tiffany Enriquez
• Tricia Heuring
• Witt Siasoco