Yesterday, we had the pleasure of welcoming renowned art curator Wassan Al-Khudhairi and MAKEbhm founder Bruce Lanier to be panelists at the Arts& the Public Sphere salon at UAB. Because the panelists' personalities were different from the previous ones, the night seemed to play out differently than we suspected and they both had plenty to say about the questions we had time to ask them. The conversation flowed organically and you could feel their passion for public art and community projects through the dialogue.
Wassan and Bruce placed public art/projects in a light that of which not many artists seem to think. Their advice on creating public artworks boils down to these few things: make the community's people the focus of the project; realize that it will take time, coordination, and collaboration (all of which may be more difficult than you think); and think about art in a social/political context when creating public art pieces. (Above: Swing Park, Milwaukee, WI)
Both Wassan and Bruce could not stress enough the importance of involving the community's people in the project. While this may seem like an obvious thing to do in public art, many community revitalization organizations will bring their people into a community with an idea that they think works, create it, and expect that everyone will love it. But without knowing what the community members feel, think, and worry about, how can anyone know what effect the project will have on the area? It could be highly offensive or not speak to the community's hidden struggles. In order to have a meaningful and successful project, it is vital that you familiarize yourself with the area very well and get to know the members in that community. Connect with others, ask them which areas they normally travel, question their thoughts on what the true difficulties are of the area. Doing these things could totally reframe your project idea and make it more powerful. Further, social and political contexts typically hold a lot of meaning and emotion with people. Think about these things and how to incorporate them. Ask yourself, when multiple people show up, what will their interaction be not only with the piece itself, but also with others who are around the piece.
On another note, the panelists ensured us that taking part in a public art project is quite the undertaking and not to be taken lightly. Due to safety and legal issues, it can be difficult to get many things approved for constructing - sometimes, this means going back to the drawing-board with an idea with which you are in love. You must be able to coordinate and work around the constraints that come with creating a public work. This process can take a lot of time besides the time it takes to create the actual piece. Also important is to find a team that is willing to work with you. It would be a lot more difficult to attempt to play every role on your own, and simply unwise. Finding people who share your vision and who you can trust can be difficult, but it is definitely important and can make all the difference in the quality of your project. Bruce asked me to share with you all this link about the Milwaukee Swing Park and the issues that arose with it. It's a great read and really opens your eyes to the process of creating a public art project, so check it out! I feel like Wassan and Bruce did a wonderful job of providing useful tips for creating great public art. Don't forget - at the end of this semester, we'll ask you to submit an idea for a public art piece or community project that is beneficial to the Birmingham community. Whoever wins will be asked to find other students to form a team and will be given seed money to pursue the project in Birmingham in the Spring 2017 semester! What are you waiting for? Birmingham needs your creativity, so go get brainstorming!
