Patricia Walsh is the Founder and CEO of PAW Arts, a public art consultancy that is a thought partner to professionals at every level to help navigate the often complex and opaque world of public art. What began as a question about how art happens in public spaces during her time as an undergraduate has evolved into two decades of expertise helping professionals navigate the complex world of public art with confidence and strategic clarity.
Through her consultancy practice she has developed collection management policies for county—based art collections, drafted municipal ordinances, created and evaluated professional development programs for arts professionals, and provided strategic guidance for public art field development internationally. Her work ranges from hands-on project evaluation and research to policy development and educational program design, serving clients from local planning departments to international cultural initiatives. Her clients span from Northwest Arkansas to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Prior to starting PAW Arts, Patricia built her expertise through progressive leadership roles at Americans for the Arts, where she spent nine years becoming a nationally recognized authority in public art and creative placemaking. Her tenure culminated as Director of Creative Community Advancement, where she curated the annual national conference on public art, authored field-defining research including comprehensive surveys of over 700 public art programs, and developed educational resources that shaped industry best practices. Throughout her time with the organization, Patricia was a key resource for the media, providing information and on-the-record commentary to numerous national and regional publications and news outlets.
This national platform was built on foundational municipal experience managing temporary art installations, overseeing the public art collection, and working on community engagement programming in San José, California, and in Las Vegas, where she gained practical understanding of the day-to-day realities of public art administration from updating a public art master plan to liaison for the city arts commission and management of permanently sited art projects.
She has a Master of Science in Arts Administration from Boston University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from State University of New York in Plattsburgh. She serves as a board advisor for the Arts & Planning Division of the American Planning Association and as a board member for Arts Mid-Hudson. Though she works globally, her practice is based in the Mid-Hudson Valley area of New York State where she lives close to family.
