FPAA Audio Program Planning

Outdoor Sculpture Audio Program Planning
Summer 2008

The Fairmount Park Art Association, in partnership with the Fairmount Park Commission, is in the process of planning an outdoor sculpture audio program for public art located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and in Fairmount Park. This project is supported by a grant from the Heritage Philadelphia Program, a program of the Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by the University of the Arts.

In June, the Art Association convened a group of six consultants for two days of meetings to discuss the project and to develop a framework for the program. This knowledgeable and diverse group consisted of a seasoned NPR reporter and author, a Peabody Award-winning radio documentarian, an urban folklorist, an unconventional history professor, a tech guru, and the founder of the radio program at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.

Because public art is encountered "on the street," the consultants were encouraged to think beyond the typical museum audio tour to envision a program that surprises, tells a story, and provides the listener with a complete experience even if he or she visits just one sculpture. The Art Association's next step is to develop audio prototypes that will be tested and evaluated this fall.

Left: The Art Association's audio consultant group learns the human story behind the All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors (c. 1934) in Aviator Park. The sculpture, which honors African-American veterans, was originally denied a place on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The Art Association invited the consultants to help plan a new audio program that will explore the social and cultural history of Philadelphia's pubilc art.

Audio Consultants Committee:
(Pictured left to right)

Laura Griffith, Fairmount Park Art Association, Jenn Richards, Fairmount Park Art Association, Theresa Stuhlman, Fairmount Park Commission, Penny Balkin Bach, Fairmount Park Art Association, Steve Rowland, CultureWorks, Dr. Michael Zuckerman, University of Pennsylvania, Hillary Frank, Independent Radio Producer, Dr. David Gilbert, Griffin Technology, Randi Korn, Randi Korn & Associates, Rob Armstrong, Fairmount Park Commission, Dr. Amanda Dargan, CityLore, and Rob Rosenthal, Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.