Athens, GA, Public Art Master Plan
After creating an ordinance to include public art in its capital projects, Athens–Clarke County needed a plan and guidelines to structure its public art process. Bressi led a planning process that involved three week-long visits by guest artists who led community engagement. The plan set out a vision that public art should make Athens look like it feels, outlined a shift from a volunteer to a professionally led organization, and provided “playbooks” for how to organize priority projects.
Date | 2015-2016
Client | Athens Cultural Affairs Commission
Collaborators | Seitu Jones, Matthew Mazzota, Wing Young Huie
Bressi worked with the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission to develop a master plan for its public art program, which is funded by a combination of capital funding and annual appropriations.
During the project, Bressi created residencies for three artists, each of whom came to Athens for a week to organize community-engaged projects that crossed neighborhood, economic, and social boundaries. These projects not only drew people into the planning process, but they also created countywide conversations about how artists could help the community address the issues it was grappling with.
The plan recommended several new initiatives for the ACAC: a downtown artwalk and a mural program, and the expansion of others, including a popular bus shelter program and community-based artist residencies. The plan resulted in expanded capital funding and a full-time staff hire.
