Making it Public

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Making it Public

Making It Public

Making It Public for Massachusetts municipalities is a training program inspired by Forecast Public Art (FPA) and co-designed by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council's (MAPC) Arts and Culture Department and The New England Foundation for the Arts' (NEFA) Public Arts Team. 

The curriculum incorporates the use of grant agreements as defined in Section 2 of MGL Chapter 30B and trains municipalities in practices to commission public art that are in alignment with the principles of fairness, transparency, and accountability in public procurement.

The Opportunity

Making it Public will cover practical and tactical subject matters for administrators at all stages of their career facilitating public art, such as stakeholder considerations, community engagement, preparing a call-for-artists, equitable selection processes, contracting, and more. Sessions include guest public art professionals, adding a depth of knowledge about the field of public art, the profession, and its contemporary issues. 

Through Making it Public and funding artists through municipalities, NEFA aims to foster a community of practice that is inspiring more vibrant and just public spaces and culture through public artmaking across MA. 

To learn more about NEFA’s vision and values for public art, visit NEFA’s website. 

A parallel workshop series geared towards MA artists will also be offered simultaneously by NEFA and FPA, equipping artists in the region to be better prepared at responding to calls for temporary public art projects.

2024 Cohort

Belchertown, Chelmsford, Clinton, Everett, Montague, Peabody, Somerville, and Southbridge make up the 2024 cohort. This cohort will:

  • Participate in Making it Public, a free biweekly workshop series with 6 training sessions over 11 weeks (January-April 2024) facilitated by MAPC designed to support Massachusetts municipal staff in facilitating more inclusive and equitable processes for administering a Call for Temporary Public Art.
     
  • Receive technical assistance from NEFA and MAPC to put out a Call for Temporary Public Art (April 2024-January 2025)
     
  • Receive a $15,000 grant from NEFA to fund artists selected through a Call for Temporary Public Art in 2024.    

For more information: https://www.nefa.org/MakingItPublic