Public Art Boot Camp – Free Online and In-Person Workshops

Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
Through 2023

A series of online workshops will be free and available to anyone interested in learning more about public art. Featuring staff, artists, and experts in the field, the information shared will highlight the steps needed to navigate through the completion of a public art project successfully.

These workshops will be held online and recordings of each will be posted on our YouTube Channel subsequent to each event. You can also watch sessions from prior years.

Where to Begin: Developing Concepts for Public Art
Thursday, December 8, 2022
So you’ve received your first public art commission, now what? This session will explore how to develop concepts for public art using community feedback, project scopes, budgets, and site restrictions. Fellow public artists will share how they’ve navigated the challenges of taking their public artworks from call to concept.

Guest Speakers:

  • Damon Brown
  • Erin Shigaki
  • Horatio Law

Hiring Subcontractors: Engineers, Fabricators and Artwork Installers
Thursday, March 9, 2023
7 – 8 PM
Local engineers, fabricators, and installation experts will share about how they’ve worked with artists on projects in the past and the types of information you will need to best find and initiate your own public art project.

Guest Speakers:

  • Marianne Wilson, Associate Principal at ZFA Structural Engineers
  • Jeff Hudak, Partner at StudioFifty50
  • Jessica Bender, Director of Operations at Art Work Fine Art Services, Seattle

Life After Project Completion: Post-Installation Rights & Responsibilities
Thursday, May 11, 2023
7 – 8 PM

Once your artwork has been completed, accepted, and installed, you’re all done, right? Well…not quite. In this session, we will give a brief overview of your rights and responsibilities to an artwork once your project’s been completed. We will discuss VARA, copyright, and artwork documentation to help demystify some of these long-term considerations.

Speakers Include:

  • Hon. Adam Eisenberg, Seattle Municipal Judge, author, and guest faculty with the University of Washington’s Museology program (specializing in art and cultural property law)
  • Sandy Esene, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture’s Public Art Collection Registrar