New•Land•Marks: public art, community, and the meaning of place
Exhibition and Events at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
February 10–April 15, 2001

As part of its ongoing program New•Land•Marks: public art, community, and the meaning of place, the Fairmount Park Art Association organized an exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts of the sixteen proposals that artists and community organizations developed for new works of public art for neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia. The exhibition featured drawings, computer renderings, maps, and models created by New•Land•Marks artists to represent their proposals. By examining the complex artistic and community processes that can inform the development of public art, the exhibition suggested how artists and communities can work together to affect the appearance and meaning of our public spaces. A comprehensive book about the New•Land•Marks program accompanied the exhibition. To find out more about the artists and their proposals, go to Participants and Proposals.

The exhibition included large-scale site photography by James B. Abbott, whose work also appears in the New•Land•Marks book, and was designed by Joel Katz Design Associates, with Stuart G. Rosenberg Architects. Katz Design, an information and graphic design firm, is well known for its "way-finding" projects that use signs, maps, and other directional elements to guide pedestrian and vehicular movement.

Educational programs and special events for children and adults accompanied the exhibition. The event series began with Community Day, a day-long celebration of public art at the Academy. Throughout the exhibition period, family art workshops and Saturday art classes offered children the opportunity to learn about and create designs for public art. New•Land•Marks artists discussed their proposals through the Academy's weekly Art-at-Lunch speaker series. Finally, the Academy's third annual Frank R. Veale Symposium (March 2001) focused on public art in America and its unique role in Philadelphia. Co-sponsored by the Academy, Temple University, and the University of Pennsylvania, the event featured several presentations about New•Land•Marks.

The exhibition offered a unique opportunity to view the New•Land•Marks proposals as a group. As the proposals are developed, each will follow its own trajectory and acquire its own identity. Together, the proposals tell a larger story—how communities and artists can come together to examine the meaning and appearance of our public spaces.

The exhibition was made possible by a generous grant from the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative, a grant program funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, with additional support from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, the Independence Foundation, and The William Penn Foundation.

Learn more about New•Land•Marks!
Program Overview
Participants and Proposals
New•Land•Marks Book
Exhibition and Events