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| The Andy Monument by Rob Pruitt, Photo by James Ewing |
Public Art Fund brings dynamic contemporary art to a broad audience in New York City by mounting ambitious free exhibitions of international scope and impact that offer the public powerful experiences with art and the urban environment.
Public Art Fund was founded by Doris C. Freedman, a champion of public art who served as New York City's first Director of Cultural Affairs during the Lindsay Administration and as the President of the Municipal Art Society. She was also a tireless supporter of New York City's Percent for Art legislation. In 1977, Freedman formed the Public Art Fund by consolidating City Walls and the Public Arts Council, which had been formed when public art programs were in their early stages of development. These two organizations had sponsored a number of high quality projects aimed at cultivating and expanding the role of the artist and the public, including projects such as Tony Rosenthal's The Alamo and Richard Haas' Arcade. An ever-increasing volume of public art inquiries and proposals prompted Freedman to create the Public Art Fund and merge the efforts of both entities. Today, the Public Art Fund continues to build on these two organizations' pioneering strategies for placing works of art in public places.
Since 1977, Public Art Fund has presented more than five hundred artists' projects throughout New York, making it possible for artists to engage diverse audiences and, along the way, redefine what public art is in relation to the changing nature of contemporary art. A list of past projects can be found in our online archives, which are regularly updated.
