“For the last several years, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) has been re-examining its approaches to engaging the public in discourse around issues of representation, equity, and diversity during the process of commissioning permanent artwork, monuments, and memorials in the public realm. Traditional methods of engagement such as public meetings, surveys, and questionnaires remain important tools. But in order to develop a deeper and more nuanced assessment of community values and priorities, we need to commit to varied forms of engagement that connect with broader, more representative audiences and foster more thoughtful dialogue.”
“DCLA’s Public Art as Community Engagement (PACE) is a pilot program building on a model that relies on artist-led temporary art, convenings, and interventions as tools for careful and deliberate interaction to build real partnerships with relevant communities and stakeholders around specific public art projects. These public interventions are designed to address questions unique to each project and to help guide its development in a way that aligns with and responds to an active and involved community. The communities, themes, values, and context for every public art project varies widely; for projects that demand more robust dialogue and interaction, the PACE approach is employed to accommodate the vast range of variables and create opportunities for engagement that are reflective of and responsive to the unique conditions of the projects.”