Public Art Practicum

What roles does public art play in society? Who does or should it serve? What are the artist's responsibilities regarding issues addressed, to the community, and to local history?

Students will develop proposals for a public art project and create a detailed project plan through extensive research. The course will reference real-life guidelines and contracts as models. Students will present their ideas to the class, consider class feedback, and revise their proposals accordingly. Students will create sketches and models for their proposed projects and present them to the class at the end of the quarter.

Students will research various online Public Art resources and tailor their concepts and proposals to their prescribed expectations. Each student will also give a class presentation on an artist who creates public art and discuss what they can learn from them.

Students are expected to discuss their art projects in class throughout the quarter, write short response papers to required readings, and participate in all class discussions and feedback sessions. We will also organize occasional field trips to Seattle when possible.