Join us for the fourth program in a four-part series on The Future of Public Space and Art. The series challenges us to discover better design strategies for the public realm that welcome all people. How do we re-envision our public spaces and the public art that inhabits them in ways that are more inclusive and enriching to collective and personal experience for social benefit? In this program on new directions, we'll explore the following questions:
- What are the current trends and data on public space and public art?
- What new directions and stories are being brought to the public realm?
- What roles do craft and technology play in exploring innovative solutions?
The series expands on the theme Belonging and Beyond, established earlier this year by 2024 AIANY President Gregory Switzer, AIA, NOMA. Belonging and Beyond centers on crucial aspects of human well-being that improve physical and social-emotional health and resilience for individuals and communities. This forum will explore noteworthy solutions that grow out of a robust exchange of interdisciplinary ideas, pointing to the future of public space and public art and their role in social equity.
Speakers:
Janet Echelman, Artist, Studio Echelman; 2023-2024 Mellon Distinguished Visiting Artist, MIT
Betsy Jacobson, Project Director, UAP Company
Amy Kaufman, Principal, AK Cultural Planning
Series creator/moderator:
Ann Marie Baranowski FAIA LEED AP, Founding Principal, AMBA
More Events in This Series:
May 6, 2024: The Future of Public Space and Art: History and Memory
September 19, 2024: The Future of Public Space and Art: New Perspectives
October 2, 2024: The Future of Public Space and Art: Social Agency
About the Speakers:
Artist Janet Echelman defies categorization. She creates billowing sculpture engineered to the scale of buildings, choreographed by wind and light, that shifts from being an object you look at, to a living environment you can get lost in. Her work crosses disciplinary boundaries, from Fine Art, Architecture, and Urban Design, to Material Science, Computer Science, and Structural and Aeronautical Engineering. Using unlikely materials from fishnet to atomized water particles, Echelman combines ancient craft with original computational design software to create artworks that have become focal points for urban life on five continents. Recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, Harvard Loeb Fellowship, Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellowship, and Fulbright Lectureship, Echelman was named an Architectural Digest Innovator for "changing the very essence of urban spaces." Her TED talk "Taking Imagination Seriously" has been translated into 35 languages with more than two million views. Oprah ranked Echelman’s work #1 on her List of 50 Things That Make You Say Wow! Echelman recently received the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award in Visual Arts, honoring “the greatest innovators in America today.”
Betsy Jacobson is the Director of Project Management at UAP. She leads a team of Project Managers focused on Consultancy and Design Assist services for site specific commissions and large-scale works. For over 15 years, Jacobson has worked directly in the field of urban design to deliver artworks that engage the public and natural landscape. In her role as Senior Project Manager at UAP, she delivered a range of projects including works for Maya Line at PennMedicine and Stan Douglas at Moynihan Station; large-scale landscapes with Sarah Sze at Storm King Arts Center and temporary installation with Anthony Gormley at the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. She has also overseen the fabrication of editioned sculptures by Claes Oldenburg, Shazia Sikander and Kehinde Wiley for gallery shows and private collections. Informed by her multidisciplinary training, Jacobson has also worked with clients to provide procedural and strategic advice about the complexities of working with the public sector, integrated needs for long-term maintenance into concept design, and led discussions about the delicate balance of placing artworks within the natural environment. Jacobson came to UAP with professional experience in the field of urban design, working for the NYC Department of Transportation’s Urban Design, Art and Wayfinding unit, as well as internationally recognized consulting firms.
Amy Kaufman is the founder of Amy Kaufman Cultural Planning where she conducts tailored research and integrates the findings into strategic, operational, and visitor experience plans. Her unique approach is focused on ensuring the building blocks of long-term sustainability are in sync, including mission-based programming, audience development goals, facilities, staffing, business strategy, brand, communications, and governance. Leading all projects at her firm, Kaufman’s clients include: Historic Virginia Key Beach Park & Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Boscobel House and Gardens, Storm King Art Center, The Trust for Governors Island, National Audubon Society, American LGBTQ+ Museum, Harvard Art Museums, Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, The Rockwell Museum, The Studio Museum of Harlem, The Africa Center, Hillsborough County African American Arts Center, Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, Virginia Discovery Museum.
Prior to founding AK Cultural Planning, Amy played a leading role at Lord Cultural Resources in planning new museums as well as programmatic and physical expansions for existing museums. Clients included National Museum of African American History and Culture, Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, National Museum of the American Latino, Planet Word, Vaclav Havel Library in Prague, Barnes Foundation, and Peabody Museum at Harvard. Before joining Lord, Kaufman was Director of Planning and Operations for Special Projects at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum as well as Director of Visitor Services during a period of major expansion.
Kaufman has a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Tulane University.
Ann Marie Baranowski is the Founding Principal of her eponymous NYC-based architecture firm, Ann Marie Baranowski Architects (AMBA). Her practice is founded on the belief that culture as an investment embedded in the built environment is as essential as the physical infrastructure of our buildings and cities. Offering specialized services in Planning, Public Space + Art, and Architecture, Baranowski focuses on the intersection of public space and public art. Working in the public realm, she has partnered on significant buildings that set a national example for enriching urban life. As Consultant the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Oahu, Hawaii, AMBA established the preliminary public art and design guidelines for the renewal of the main terminal. For the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Baranowski coordinated important public art installations for the Fulton Center and the South Ferry Terminal. As the Museum Architect for the Brooklyn Museum of Art, she directed the planning and implementation of the Museum’s $32M Eastern Parkway Entrance to renew the Museum’s identity.
AIANY Cultural Facilities Committee
