The time is long overdue to reckon with systemic racism and inequities in our country’s public art policies, practices, and collections and address our collective trauma. We know from four decades as a leader in the public art field that cultural appropriation, art-washing, public art deserts, unethical community engagement practices, and systemic funding and policy barriers keep BIPOC artists and communities from fair, just and equitable representation in our country’s public art. The Change Lab National Research Fellowships aim to produce new research, data, reporting, and suggestions to advance justice, health, and human dignity in the field of public art in the United States.

When SGA put out a call for different jurisdictions to apply to partner with artists, nearly 200 different agencies from across the country raised their hands. SGA called on Forecast to facilitate artist selection for this program—Arts & Transportation Rapid Response (A&TRR)—pairing selected agencies with artists to address COVID-related transit challenges and longstanding transportation inequities. Our team spent time with the agencies to articulate the vision and goals for each project, and to understand the type of artistic work or skills that would benefit the project.

Announcing the transition of Public Art Review into its next iteration, FORWARD, a digital publication and conversation series from Forecast Public Art highlighting how artists are partnering with cities, institutions and communities to courageously tackle the vital issues of our time.