Innovation to Action

The 2018 Northwest Public Art Consortium conference was held September 18 & 19 in Moscow, Idaho, and Pullman, Washington. Two days of sessions explored the relationships between rural and metropolitan public art programs and best practices for managing each.

Featured speaker

Jack Becker, Director of Consulting and Creative Services of Forecast Public Art

Sowing the Seeds and Reaping the Rewards of Public Art

What are the seeds that can turn into annual public art programs? How can you go from building awareness to gaining understanding, to increasing appreciation and then to leveraging investment and support?

Jack Becker founded Forecast in 1978. As a public artist, administrator, and veteran consultant, Becker develops projects and plans for communities large and small. He received a BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, studying under such artists as Siah Armajani, Kinji Akagawa and Andrew Leicester. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he also studied there at Washington University and Webster University, as well as the Croydon College of Art and Design in Great Britain. Widely acknowledged as a leader in the field, Becker is the founding publisher of Public Art Review. In 2007, he received the Public Art Network Award of Excellence from Americans for the Arts, and in 2014, he received a lifetime achievement award from the College Art Association, through their Public Art Dialogue program.

Speakers

  • Melissa Cole, Artist, Moscow, ID
  • Jacob Cooper, Project Manager for the Virtual Technology Laboratory at the University of Idaho
  • Christy Costello, Program Manager, Colorado Creative Districts, CO Creative Industries
  • David Francis, Public Art Coordinator, Shoreline, WA
  • Lori Goldstein, Manager, Public Art Archive, Westaf
  • Delta James, Economic Development Planner, City of McCall
  • Stephanie Johnson, Arts Program Manager, City of Olympia, WA
  • Kevin Kelpe, Founder, Technical Knockout
  • Amy Kimberly, Executive  Director, Carbondale Arts (CO) and Carbondale Creative District
  • Karl LeClair, Public Art Program Manager, Boise City Department of Arts & History
  • Anne-Claire Mitchell, Artist Trust & Richmond Collective
  • Valerie Peterman, My Public Art Portal Writer-Researcher for ArtsWA,
  • Annette Roth, Program Manager, Creative Districts, ArtsWA
  • Mike Sweney, Program Manager, Art in Public Places Program, ArtsWA
  • Michelle Traver, Public Art Administrator, TriMet (Portland),
  • Mary Welcome, Citizen Artist, Palouse, WA
  • Joshua Wright, VP, Economic and Workforce Development, Emsi, Moscow, ID

Panel Discussions

  • Maintenance & Conservation
  • Creative Districts
  • Community Engagement with Public Art
  • Digitization and Collections, Best Practices
  • Public Art & Technology
  • Pecha Kucha

Sessions taking place in City Hall council chambers were recorded. Those sessions appear below.

View the complete NOWPAC program here

Resources provided by presenters

Melissa Cole, Artist

Video about the Moscow Public Library mosaic

Christine Costello, Colorado Creative Industries

Call Yourself Creative

Lori Goldstein, Westaf

The Future History of Public Art

Public Art Archive

Sara Solum Hayashi, Curator, Arts of Kenmore

Arts of Kenmore

For the love of Kenmore

For the Love of Cities

Hightail/Opentext

Hightail demo video

Stephanie Johnson, Arts Program Manager, City of Olympia

Public Art in Olympia, WA

Paul Nguyen, Westaf

CVSuite

Valerie Warren, Visit Bend

Tin Pan Alley Art in Bend, OR

Chalk art at Bend Visitor Center

Bend Cultural Tourism Fund

Mary Welcome, Citizen Artist

Mary Welcome’s website