Work With Me
My work is advisory and collaborative. I come in as a thought partner — helping organizations and public art professionals clarify direction and move work forward. The goal is always to leave you better equipped — with the knowledge, connections, and capacity to sustain the work.
I bring 25 years of experience in the public art field, including nearly a decade in a national leadership role focused on knowledge-building and field advancement. I work across the full public art ecosystem — with cities, cultural organizations, artists, and the administrators and planners who support them.
Engagements are structured to fit the work. I take on independent projects and welcome opportunities to work alongside other firms and consultants.
Presenting during a cross-department meeting on the new public art and visual art collection management policies for the Prince George’s County Parks and Recreation Arts Program. 2024. Photo credit Pete Duval, Anything Photographic.
Professional Services
Public art programs, government agencies, and nonprofits come to this work at different stages — some are building from scratch, some are updating what exists, and some are working through a specific problem that requires outside perspective. The work is hands-on, specific to each client's circumstances, and grounded in what their community actually needs. It draws on experience across every part of the public art ecosystem — program design, policy development, master planning, collection management, evaluation, and the hard questions that don't have easy answers.
Recent work includes drafting a public art ordinance and arts master plan guide for Omaha, Nebraska; developing collection management policies for Prince George's County; assisting with artist selection for a city-funded mural program in Abu Dhabi; and researching public art implementation guidelines for historic Taos, New Mexico.
Most artists working in or moving toward public art know their work is strong. What's harder is understanding how the field works, where the opportunities are, how to price work, and how to build the relationships that lead to the next project. This service is for artists at any stage in their public art career from beginners looking to build a portfolio to established public artists looking to grow their businesses. It can be one focused conversation, ongoing strategy work, or making the connections that help you move forward with confidence.
Helping artists navigate the public art field is work I've been doing throughout my career — through national training programs and workshops at Americans for the Arts, direct artist conversations, and more recently through the City of Salem's business development program and for Founding Members of Public Art Curious.
→ Get in touch to talk about where you are and where you want to go
Managing a conservation project requires coordinating artists, vendors, contracts, and multiple stakeholders simultaneously — often without dedicated in-house capacity to oversee it. For public art programs and conservation firms that need experienced project management for a specific conservation engagement, this is a specialized service drawing on both public art program experience — including direct oversight of conservation and restoration projects — and current project management practice.
This is a small and specific offering for the right client. If you're facing a conservation project that needs dedicated oversight, get in touch to talk through what's involved.
Cohort & Network Development
Building a strong local public art ecosystem takes more than individual expertise — it takes connection. I work with organizations and regional partners to develop cohort programs and peer networks that bring together artists, administrators, fabricators, land use managers, and others working in the field. Whether you're launching a regional network or building a learning cohort for your community, this work can be structured alongside either service area above. I bring direct experience with the Public Art Network, regional network development, and cohort evaluation for city arts administrators.
What Clients Say
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Patricia Walsh's expertise was instrumental in developing comprehensive collection management policies for our public and visual art collections at M-NCPPC Department of Parks and Recreation/Prince George’s County. She guided staff through the creation of comprehensive written documents that serve as manuals for the care and stewardship of both the permanently sited Public Art Collection and of the rotating exhibition of works in the Visual Arts Collection. In addition, she skillfully facilitated inter-departmental workshops, broke down divisional silos and created lasting collaboration between our teams with fundamentally similar directives. Exhibiting characteristics of both dependability and professional know-how, I highly recommend PAW Arts, LLC for any organization seeking to strengthen their collection management practices and improve cross-departmental coordination.
— Alec Simpson, Visual and Public Art Coordinator, Arts and Cultural Heritage Division, M-NCPPC/Prince George's Department of Parks and Recreation
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"Patricia Walsh delivered exactly what our grassroots organization needed to formalize our arts advocacy efforts. She drafted comprehensive public art policies and created an arts and culture master planning guide that gave our organization the professional framework to effectively engage with local government and community stakeholders. Active in the arts sector herself, Patricia uniquely understood our mission and translated our vision into actionable, policy-ready documents that have strengthened our local impact."
— Weston Thomson, Local Artists. Local Art.