Public Art: The Case for a Cultural Heart Transplant

Source: Nonprofit Quarterly // Published March 17, 2021

To create public works that truly serve our shared experience, we must maintain that community organizers and city-appointed art directors are sitting at the table as peers, not outweighed by power or pedigree but rather equalized by their lived experience.

Imagine that public space put the ideas of the artist at its center, with urban transformation, public infrastructure, and civic architecture as its foundation. In such a space, creative culture would be championed by the public and be financially supported by those who understand that art is essential to social advancement. In that world, hasty cycles of development would become more thoughtful, collaborative civic movements that represent people from all backgrounds and abilities.

Imagining public art in this way reminds us that cities should function as vehicles for social movements and progress, rather than as spaces that reinforce existing power relations. Our public spaces most often reinforce the dominant systems of our time, such as capitalism and white supremacy. It can and must be different. This means, when thinking about sustainable support for the arts, we must develop a system that sustains not only artists but ourselves.

So how can we begin to execute these ideas? Sustainable support for the arts requires a three-pronged approach: equipping citizens to engage with public art, reforming the design and development process in our cities, and introducing mechanisms for strategic funding from the ground up.

Equipping Citizens to Engage with Public Art

There are examples of this approach we can find, if we look for them. For example, in 2018, the Oakland Creative Neighborhoods Coalition in California reinstated an Arts and Culture Commission to redefine and grow its arts grant program through the funding and approval of more than 80 projects. After years of developing a strong framework rooted in equity, the community’s voice now drives the development and implementation of new policies to protect and advance creative production rooted in a culture of belonging.

In the same vein, Sara Zewde of Studio Zewde builds a similar storytelling strategy directly into the urban experience through literal landscape architecture and public artistry. Her studio’s project Graffiti Pier creates public access to cultural narratives while prioritizing preservation of a layered creative history of street art in Port Richmond and Philadelphia as a whole. Through an early, intentional collaboration among artists, community advocates, and neighbors, the design process provided a careful approach to public art as authentic representation. In the revival of a neglected yet significant site, this project shows how artists create the foundational fabric of the city.

The Costs of Undemocratic Design

A common thread weaves through each initiative, project, and organization: advocacy through active listening and an inclusive process. Understanding the power of visual arts to bridge societal gaps is at the forefront of each effort. Culture is fluid; it’s our most dynamic resource.

The flow between community activation and what is culturally produced opens up opportunities for constant exchange. Whether we choose to acknowledge it, the history and contributions of Black and Brown people are the heart of American culture.