Title
Report on Public Art at the Ann Arbor Bridges Reconstruction Public Forum
Memorandum
The public art project at the Ann Arbor Bridges Reconstruction held a public forum in conjunction with the visit to Ann Arbor by the four artist finalists. The artists attended a walkthrough of the site during the afternoon of April 1st and later in the evening attended a public forum at the Ann Arbor Senior Center. The meeting format was an open house and was dubbed as an event to “meet the artists.”
The meeting’s format was modeled after an open house, such one as an art gallery might offer, and as such, did not include a presentation produced for everyone attending the meeting. Attendees received information from multiple sources and were asked to provide feedback and input in several different ways.
The Public Art Administrator welcomed attendees at the entrance and gave an overview of how they could participate in the meeting. A slideshow of the all four artist’s past work was being screened and looping in the center of the room. Each artist had organized a display of their body of work at four individual locations. Residents spoke directly to the artists about their past artwork and work in public spaces.
Public input was collected in three different ways: written upon a feedback form that was given to residents as they signed in; three display boards were set-up to accept written answers to the questions on display; and the artists communicated with residents one-on-one.
The feedback form and the display boards included the following questions:
· How does the community interact with, or use, the location?
· What do you like, or dislike, about the specific areas that are proposed for use with the public art installation?
· What do the artists need to know about the city?
· What do the artists need to know about the location of the installation?
· What do the artists need to know about the community?
Written feedback included:
· References to the student populati...
Click here for full text