Public art as a tool for environmental outreach: Insights on the challenges of implementation

October 08, 2015

10:55am - 11:10am

The arts have an ability to communicate environmental information that can be utilized in an educational capacity, particularly when installed in the public realm. While some research on ‘ecological public art’ has been conducted in other national jurisdictions, little attention has been paid to its application in Canada. This paper addresses insights derived from in-depth semi-structured interviews with members of three not-for-profit art organizations in the City of Toronto that are engaged in commissioning public artworks intended to provoke thought about the environment. Interviews were also conducted with municipal employees (public art specialists) who possess expert knowledge on current public art policy in Toronto. Following the thematic analysis of transcribed interviews, as well as relevant literature and public art policies/plans, our findings reveal three impediments to the application of public art as a tool for environmental outreach: 1) a restriction of funding towards permanent works of art in the city’s public art policy, 2) a lack of official acknowledgement of public art’s contribution to sustainable city planning or to its educational role, and 3) an absence of follow-up assessment and evaluation criteria following the completion of public art projects.    

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