Works in Public Symposium

The symposium features conversations with artists, curators, and critics on the practical and conceptual aspects of public art commissions.

Please join the Art Students League of New York for Works in Public, a groundbreaking symposium on public art that will take place at League’s historic building on West 57th Street on Tuesday, May 12. Developed in collaboration with Kendal Henry, Assistant Commissioner of Public Art at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), the symposium will feature a conversation with renowned Brooklyn-based artist Jean Shin on the role that public art has played in her practice, as well as a panel discussion with leading curators and critics on the practical and conceptual aspects of public art commissions.

The Works in Public symposium builds on the success of the League’s Works in Public program, which instructs students on all aspects of public art from ideation to fabrication, culminating each year in the installation of four large-scale works in New York’s Riverside Park.

SESSION 1 (4 – 5:15 PM):

A conversation between Kendal Henry (Assistant Commissioner of Public Art at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs) and renowned artist Jean Shin about Shin’s career, practice, and experience producing site-specific works of art intended for public settings.

SESSION 2 (5:30 – 6:45 PM):

A panel discussion on public art commissions with influential curators and critics Jean Cooney (Executive Director, Creative Time), Kendal Henry (Assistant Commissioner of Public Art at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs), Melanie Kress (Senior Curator, Public Art Fund) and Shaun Leonardo (Executive Director, Socrates Sculpture Park) moderated by Daniel Kunitz (Editor in Chief, Sculpture magazine).

RECEPTION (7 – 8 PM):

A champagne reception and information sharing session for artists, critics, curators, fabricators, and city officials, including representatives from commissioning bodies and agencies.