Arlington County Public Art Master Plan
For nearly 25 years, Bressi served as a public art consultant to Arlington County, Va. He led two master plan processes (2004, 2021), consulted on project planning for Columbia Pike and Courthouse Square, helped with artist selections, and assisted on other on-call tasks. He independently advised two of the County’s business improvement districts and a large-scale residential development. His most recent project was an update of the County’s public art master plan.
Date | 2021
Client | Arlington County Public Art
Collaborators | Sushmita Mazumdar
Public art has been part of Arlington’s landscape for more than 40 years, when the County, a citizen activist, an artist, a developer and the National Endowment for the Arts joined to create Dark Star Park, a seminal landscape artwork created by Nancy Holt in Rosslyn. Since then, the County and private developers have completed more than 100 permanent and temporary artworks in Arlington.
The program adopted its first public art plan in 2004 and embarked on an update fifteen years later. The goals of the update were to reground the program in the values around which it was organized, while considering changing County policies and priorities, the evolution of Arlington’s public realm and infrastructure, and new ideas about the practice of public art. The update:
addresses the intersection of public art with new County priorities, including equity and biophilia
identifies new priority corridors for public art projects, based on new patterns of public and private investment
outlines how the program can embrace new public art approaches and strategies, such as creative placemaking, social practice, and artist residencies
recommends equitable uses of developer contributions
separates action and administrative items into an Implementation Guide, which clarifies how public art approaches intersect with departmental missions and priorities
The planning process involved comprehensive engagement with the general public and stakeholders – including County agencies, developers, artists, and economic development entities. The plan was adopted in December, 2021, as part of Arlington’s Comprehensive Plan.
