PAW Arts is here to help you and your community with your public art needs.
2016 Seoul Is Museum International Conference, Seoul, South Korea
PAW Arts, LLC is a public art consulting firm that works with communities to develop systems for the creation and maintenance of public art. With over 15 years of experience, Patricia Walsh, CEO + Founder of PAW Arts, can help you create guidelines and procedures for your community's public art program.
Public art is a powerful expression of our values, cultures, and histories. PAW Arts can help your community create a public art experience that is meaningful, engaging, and accessible to all.
Community- and Equity-Centered Commitment
Public art reflects the community around it and so should the people, policies and systems that manage and develop the work. Patricia’s commitment to service delivery is centered in equitably reflecting the values and cultures of your community.
Services.
Advising and Training
Patricia works with your staff and community members to understand best practices in the development of public art projects and programs. Your community may be new to public art or just needs a review of current practices and trends. Let Patricia help you with capacity and education on the creation of your next public art project.
Policy and Systems Review
The implementation of any public artwork takes an understanding of local policies and systems to create and install an artwork. Patricia is here to review current policies or create new policies, map administrative systems, and provide recommendations for effective public art project development based on the needs and requirements of your community.
Research and Evaluation
Understanding the impact that public art has on a community is important for delivering an effective program. Patricia is here to benchmark similar programs, learn from your community, and evaluate how well a public art initiative achieved its goals.
Collection Management and Assessment
Like any investment, public art needs care and maintenance to ensure longevity, and as collections grow, systems to track and manage public artworks are needed. Patricia can review current management processes, provide an initial review of completed artworks to understand the current state of needs, and devise next steps in caring for your public art collection.
Speaking Engagements
Sometimes an outside perspective is helpful in rallying communities around the next stage of its public art journey. Patricia can present on the importance of public art in communities, discuss best practices and current trends, and facilitate discussions on the role public art can play in your community.
Project Development
Starting a new public art project is a feat for both first timers and seasoned professionals. Let Patricia help you with the initial development of the public art project, from identifying goals, connecting with the community, building partnerships, and selecting the artist.
Select Projects.
Advising and Training
Nine years at Americans for the Arts providing resources, brainstorming, and advising communities across the United States on how to best implement public art projects and programs.
Managed one of the only annual public art conferences in the United States to provide educational, networking, and resource sharing about professionals in the field. Achieved an increase in attendance by 41% over five years.
Designed an in-person workshop for the City of Atlanta to train local artists in public artmaking.
Created virtual trainings for public art professionals to learn about current trends and best practices. Topics included street art, monuments, murals, legal issues and copyright, deaccessioning and crowdfunding, among many others.
Collaborated with Smart Growth America to educate communities on using creative placemaking techniques to address transportation challenges. Trainings were implemented for Buffalo, New York, Bozeman, Montana, and Mariposa County, California, and a comprehensive DIY toolkit was created.
Planning and Strategy
Coordinated the city of Las Vegas public art master plan efforts with the inclusion of feedback from local stakeholders, elected officials, and senior staff to expand the relevance of the program.
Developed guidelines for the management of the Americans for the Arts advisory councils through the coordination of several internal departments.
Lead a design thinking approach at Americans for the Arts to identify more effective ways to engage presenters for department-related events.
Built the Public Art & Civic Design Strategy at Americans for the Arts to update legacy programming to be in alignment with the needs of public art administrators and organizational goals.
Collection Management and Condition Assessments
Developed ongoing assessments of the City of San José’s public art collection to identify potential maintenance issues and create an annual conservation plan and budget.
Organized materials for over 250 public art projects in hard-copy and digital form for easier access to archived information on completed artworks.
Oversaw the restoration of a two-story metal and acrylic mural by JoeSam in collaboration with the artist and private partners for San José Ice.
Trained volunteers to assist in the maintenance of 30+ site specific artworks by Mel Chin located at the City of San José/San José State University Main Branch Library.
Speaking Engagements
Presented to national and international audiences on a variety of topics related to the role of the arts in community, including:
Equitable creative economy, 2023 National Planning Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
How public art shows up in communities, 2021 Art Symposium in Public Spaces, Guatemala City, Guatemala
How to support artists, 2020 Virtual Conversation, Newburgh Free Library, Newburgh, New York
Public art in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020 Virtual Conversation, Chicago Loop Alliance, Chicago, Illinois
Creative placemaking, 2018 National Planning Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana
Public art and arts education, 2018 College Art Association Conference, Los Angeles, California
The role of public art in the United States, 2016 Seoul Is Museum International Conference, Seoul, South Korea
Trends in the public art field, 2014 Florida Association of Public Art Professionals Conference, Key West, Florida
Research, Writing, and Evaluation
Created the evaluation report for the Municipal Arts Alliance, a program of Creative Arkansas Community Hub & Exchange and the Walmart Foundation
Authored “Why Public Art Matters (2018)” to include data points, examples, and talking points to help those advocating for public art in their communities.
Collaborated with local arts leaders to author “Cultural Equity in the Public Art Field” to identify and begin addressing inequities in the public art field.
Developed a survey of over 700 public art programs in the United States to understand the current make-up of the field and create educational opportunities.
Implemented the community and artist evaluation process to understand the impact of five public art projects as part of the Natick Center Creative Placemaking Strategy in collaboration with the Massachusetts Area Planning Council and American Planning Association.
Co-managed the Americans for the Arts public art and arts education research project to create tools and learning opportunities for arts educators and public art practitioners.
Project Development
Identified artists and completed research for the Ulster County, New York planning department to communicate the role of agricultural districts to local farmers and businesses.
Created RFPs and organized selection committees for identifying artists for public art master plans, temporary artworks, and permanent public art projects for the City of San Jose, California.
Administered temporary artworks in collaboration with city departments and regional transit agencies to engage commuters along the San Fernando Corridor as part of a community engagement and transportation plan.
Collaborated with the City Manager Office to implement a high-profile art tour for the International City Managers Convention to promote Downtown San Jose.
Developed the Jorge and Darlene Pérez Prize in Public Art & Civic Design to annually award $30,000 to an individual who supports, develops, or manages the incorporation of art into the design of places across the United States.
Experience.
Patricia Walsh believes that the built environment should reflect the communities it serves through design, beauty, and use. For nine years she managed the public art and community development programs at Americans for the Arts where she designed trainings and conferences, provided advice, researched, and advocated for the importance and inclusion of the arts in public spaces across the United States. She has spoken nationally and internationally on the value the arts bring to communities, and she has written on the various aspects of implementing a public art project including artists selection, cultural equity, and community engagement. Patricia built partnerships with the American Planning Association and Smart Growth America that led to local trainings and an evaluation project to cultivate the use of the arts to address community needs. Throughout her time with the organization, Patricia was a key resource to the media and provided information and on-the-record commentary to ARTnews, Nonprofit Quarterly, NPR, WBEZ Chicago, Associated Press, Apartment Therapy, and Chicago Tribune, among many other national and regional publications and news outlets.
Patricia was the program specialist for the city of Las Vegas where she coordinated their public art master plan. For the city of San José, California, she was the arts coordinator for the public art program, where she managed the city’s 250+ art collection, archived their collection materials, managed temporary public art installations, and organized community engagement events.
Patricia has participated in artists selection processes in Maryland and Virginia and was appointed to the City of Palo Alto’s public art commission. She is an advisor for the Arts & Planning Division of the American Planning Association and is a former co-chair of the Placemaking Council for Urban Land Institute Washington. Patricia holds a Master of Science in Arts Administration from Boston University, a Bachelor of Arts in painting from State University of New York at Plattsburgh, and an Associates in Applied Science in Commercial Art from Dutchess Community College.
Patricia lives in Poughkeepsie, New York, near where she was raised and close to family.
Contact Patricia to learn more about services and pricing.
Follow on LinkedIn to connect with Patricia’s public art experience.