Public Art: From Proposal to Installation

NYC Commissioner for Public Design and Creative Capital artist Kenseth Armstead will guide artists through the process of developing site-specific public art projects. Participants will gain insight into the relationships necessary for successful public art projects, including community outreach and partnerships; presenting to boards and in public hearings; and working with fabricators, engineers and architects. Artists will learn how to strengthen their concept development and proposal structure, and will be provided resources for finding temporary and permanent public art opportunities. This workshop is tailored to serve artists new to public art as well as public artists looking to grow their practice.
This workshop will be conducted via Zoom webinar, including time for participant Q&A. A recording will be shared with all registered participants after the workshop concludes, regardless of whether a participant attends the live workshop. The recordings will be available online to registrants; they are not available for download.
About Kenseth Armstead
Kenseth Armstead’s work has been included in the historic exhibitions “Black Male: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary Art” at the Whitney Museum; “It’s Happening! Celebrating 50 Years of Public Art in NYC Parks,” presented by NYC Parks, Art in the Parks; “Race in Digital Space” at MIT; “Veni Vidi Video” at the Studio Museum in Harlem; “Open House: Working in Brooklyn” at the Brooklyn Museum; and “Modern Heroics, 75 years of African American Expressionism” at the Newark Museum. He has been awarded the NYFA Artist Fellowship (1996 & 2019); the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (1999 & 2020); the NYSCA Individual Artist Award; and the Creative Capital Award (2008). Armstead’s commissions include: Olana State Historic Site, “Heresy / Hearsay,” (2014); Socrates Sculpture Park, “Master Work: Astoria Houses” (2015); BRIC House, “Master Work: Slaves of New York 1776” (2018); and Union Square Park, “Washington 20/20/20” (2018). Armstead’s first “Sankofa_” public artwork, “Boulevard of African Monarchs,” presented by the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance and the NYC DOT ART, Community Commissions was installed in Harlem 2020-2021. Armstead is currently a Commissioner of Public Design for the City of New York, appointed by former Mayor Bill de Blasio. The PDC has jurisdiction over permanent structures, landscape architecture, and art proposed on or over City-owned property. Armstead was published by Bloomsbury as the author of the final chapter of the book “Teachable Monuments.”