Co-authored by Christina Villa, Business Director, Creative West; Lori Goldstein, Public Art Archive Senior Manager, Creative West; and Alison Verplaetse, Public Art Archive Coordinator, Creative West
Cities across the country have impressive public art collections, but it can be difficult to connect the local community and visitors to local cultural assets and the stories they tell. An online catalogue for public art, the Public Art Archive’s (PAA) free platform helps cities develop a strong presence for their public art collection, critical for education, sharing and cultivating a sense of inclusion and community belonging.
The Public Art Archive hosts nearly 30,000 artworks and is the largest database dedicated to public art documentation and exploration worldwide.
Since 2012, the Public Art Archive — supported by Creative West, one of six Regional Arts Organizations nationwide — has offered a free online engagement platform of public artworks across the U.S. and abroad.
The Public Art Archive helps cities to keep an inventory of their public artworks and share their place-based collections with residents, tourists and online visitors.
Why Public Art Matters
Public art transforms everyday spaces into places of meaning, sparking conversation, pride and connection among residents and visitors alike. Public art can shape a city’s identity by reflecting its values, history and aspirations in a visible, accessible way. Over time, public artworks have the potential to become icons of a city.
The Public Art Archive in Action
Huntsville, AL
Huntsville, Alabama, is gaining recognition for its expanding public art collection, thanks to efforts by Arts Huntsville, a local arts agency. Arts Huntsville partnered with PAA to create a public engagement platform with interactive mapping technology, making it easy for residents and visitors to explore the city’s vibrant art scene from a single portal. This effort simplifies access to public art, fosters deeper connections to the artworks and offers rich storytelling beyond basic signage.
The platform shares the stories behind notable artworks such as This Girl Can, a vibrant multi-story mural created by artist Kim Raford to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. Community Pillars is a community-driven sculpture by Gwyer Sinclair featuring drawings submitted by elementary students across the city.
Arts Huntsville also uses PAA to create and share special exhibitions that serve as digital companions for self-guided tours. Our Civic Canvas, a curated collection of 10 site-specific artworks commissioned for the new city hall, celebrates Huntsville’s past, present and future through a variety of styles and media. Hosting such projects online not only increases accessibility but also makes it easier to track and promote visitor engagement.
Reno, NV
Amidst a quickly growing population, Reno expanded its public art collection to nearly 300 permanent and temporary artworks. The core collection features diverse pieces such as outdoor sculptures and signal box art. The city also boasts an art collection located throughout city buildings. The City’s Office of Arts & Culture uses the Public Art Archive to steward the collection and promote cultural tourism. Residents and visitors can easily engage with public art in the Riverwalk District along the Truckee River, home to artworks like Bryan Tedrick’s wind-driven, kinetic sculpture Portal of Evolution, the elusive Rhinoman by Carolyn Guerrera and the newly painted River Life mural by Anthony Ortega that pays homage to life on the iconic Truckee River.
Additionally, Reno’s identity is linked to the site of the Burning Man festival that occurs nearby. Reno has become the home for several public artworks originally created for Burning Man: Portal of Evolution, which celebrates transformation, and Space Whale, a sculpture with glowing LED lights that makes it a striking centerpiece at night in the city plaza. By pairing its vibrant collection with PAA tools, Reno effectively encourages interaction with artworks throughout the city.
Alexandria, VA
The Alexandria Office of the Arts worked with the PAA to make the stories of publicly- and privately-owned art around the city more visible. Not all public art is permanently installed, and Alexandria provides a stellar example of how temporary public art pieces are equally effective in bringing experiences to a community and forming a city’s cultural identity.
Alexandria’s Waterfront Park has been the site of numerous public art attractions, such as SOFTLab’s Mirror Mirror, an installation designed to respond to sound and light through visitor interaction, and StudioKCA’s Interstellar Influencer (Make an Impact), an artful recreation of an asteroid that helped to shape the Chesapeake Bay’s watershed.
PAA offers a space to archive these exhibitions no longer on view to the public, documenting the historical impact of the works.
Learn More and Get Involved
- Don’t see your city in the Public Art Archive? Work with your local arts agency or arts and culture office to submit your local artworks!
- Reach out to arts@nlc.org for more resources and to learn more about how to support art in cities.
Celebrate National Arts & Health Day
NLC invites you to join the second annual celebration of how the arts contribute to our wellbeing! Join cities across the country in recognizing how the arts build community cohesion and help us heal and thrive by proclaiming July 26 as Arts & Health Day. You can also use hashtag #ArtsHealthDay25 to join the conversation online and explore our social media toolkit.
