• Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • About
  • News
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Contact
Forecast Public Art
  • Artist Support
    • Hire an Artist
    • Artist Opportunities
    • Public Artist Grants
    • Grantees
    • Trainings & Workshops
  • Client Services
    • Planning + Engagement
    • Finding + Selecting Artists
    • Trainings & Workshops
  • Trainings
  • Voices in the Field
  • Change Lab
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Quality of Life

Public artists and their collaborators are creating a more livable future

Forecast founder
Jack Becker

It seems like everywhere I go, nearly everyone I meet wants to “improve the quality of life” in their community. We now throw around terms like livability and standard of living as if everyone knows what we mean. How often do we actually stop to define these terms or take action on them in the public realm? Many communities—and public artists—do so every day.

The city of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis, prides itself on innovation and community building. In 1993, the people of St. Louis Park developed an initiative called Children First. It’s essentially a partnership among their education, faith, city, health, and business communities that focuses on building the 40 “assets” or character-building attributes that kids need to become healthy, productive, and successful adults. By putting the focus on future generations, the community forces itself to continually consider what kind of world it needs to create, a consideration that transcends the here and now. This forward thinking extends to St. Louis Park’s public art program, which requires private developers to fund new work by local and national artists. The combination of this progressive approach to commissioning new work as part of community development efforts and Children First has helped establish a culture of caring for shared spaces, social engagement, and a healthier environment—a clear vision of quality of living.

At Public Art Review, we value artists as connectors, mediators, enablers, and facilitators of change. We aim to illustrate ways that artists bring their intuition, vision, and holistic thinking to challenges faced by communities—and the world as a whole—often recognizing solutions before the rest of us are even aware of the problems. In this issue‘s cover story, we look at how artists are addressing notions of livability and improving standards of living through the lens of public art and public space development. We celebrate artists working side by side with planners, designers, creators, educators, and policy makers—indeed all the caretakers of our built and natural environments—to lay foundations for future generations.

“Public art is visible evidence of our shared humanity.”

We’re very pleased to highlight some of the world’s talented, game-changing and inspiring artists in this issue, people whose voices, visions, practices and stories need to be shared more broadly—with elected officials, policy makers, leaders, connectors, and innovators seeking new ideas and solutions for creating a more livable world. Public art is visible evidence of our shared humanity, yet for too long the value of public art has been hiding in plain sight. If we work to raise awareness of and appreciation for its value, future generations will build on the foundations we lay today.

Jack Becker is the founder of Forecast Public Art.

This piece appeared as the publisher’s note in the print issue of Public Art Review issue 49.

From Public Art Review #49.

Insight

  • Renderings of Milwaukee’s Lake Michigan waterfront with illustrations of WaterMarks, a project that helps citizens better understand the city water systemCity-Scale SustainabilityJanuary 30, 2020 - 11:02 pm
  • Forecast executive director Theresa Sweetland, left, and Public Art Review editor in chief Karen Olson, rightDignity and CollaborationDecember 18, 2019 - 8:50 pm
  • portrait of Victoria Jones, director of the nonprofit CLTVVictoria Jones on owning and investing as pledges of Black autonomy and hopeDecember 13, 2019 - 8:29 pm
  • Trend and Response: the critical issues facing our world—and what public art is doing about themJuly 8, 2019 - 5:12 pm
  • A photographic grid of 16 public art leadersTransforming our Future with Public ArtMay 13, 2019 - 9:40 pm
  • In Neighborhood We TrustNovember 29, 2018 - 10:19 pm
  • A Cultural Park for the Health of the KidsNovember 29, 2018 - 9:56 pm
  • A Change of HeartNovember 28, 2018 - 4:04 pm
  • Five Prepositions for Communities Working with ArtistsAugust 23, 2018 - 3:55 pm
  • Queer UrbanismJune 21, 2018 - 6:30 pm
  • Discovering the UnknownMay 16, 2018 - 8:48 pm
  • PlaceMAKING?May 10, 2018 - 8:35 pm
  • What Are We Risking?November 20, 2017 - 8:18 pm
  • Top-Down UrbanismNovember 20, 2017 - 8:05 pm
  • Go Beyond TalkingNovember 20, 2017 - 7:55 pm
  • Postcard to the FutureApril 1, 2016 - 9:21 pm
  • Quality of LifeOctober 1, 2013 - 1:44 pm
  • portrait of Jack BeckerThe Gospel of Public ArtMarch 1, 2011 - 2:59 pm
  • Reality CheckOctober 1, 2010 - 2:04 pm

CONTACT US

2380 Wycliff Street
SUITE 200

ST. PAUL, MN 55114

(651) 641-1128

INFO@FORECAST
PUBLICART.ORG 

QUICK LINKS

ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES

RESOURCES

STAFF & BOARD

NEWS

CONNECT WITH FORECAST

Sign up for our newsletters: With our general Public Art Update, receive monthly insights on what’s happening at Forecast and in the public art field. With our quarterly consulting newsletter, Making Change, follow the exciting work our team leads around the country.

Interested in sponsoring or advertising in FORWARD? Contact us!

© COPYRIGHT 2023 – FORECAST PUBLIC ART

JOIN OUR EMAIL LISTS

Subscribe
  • Link to Facebook
  • Link to Twitter
  • Link to LinkedIn
  • Link to Instagram
Scroll to top
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.