Emeryville Public Art Master Plan

Emeryville, California

Why

Emeryville’s vision to be a city that values art comes from a long legacy of public art champions and a commitment of investment in the arts at a citywide level for over twenty-five years.

Today the City’s Art in Public Places Program (AIPP) has nearly 70 publicly-owned art works and 230 art installations available to the public in private locations. Both collections are growing as the City continues to commission additional work, and as private development extends the reach of the Art in Public Places (AIPP) program.

A major goal of the Public Art Master Plan is to define the focus of the program for the residents, business owners, and other stakeholders who help define what is important to the community and Emeryville’s identity. By using the community engagement results, the City can facilitate a future of AiPP program that is meaningful, locally-based and one that resonates with residents and visitors alike.

How

The planning process included meeting with numerous key stakeholders who were asked a series of questions about the importance of public art in Emeryville, how public art informs their sense of place, economic development, business development and retention, education, art programming and community engagement.

Key stakeholders included council members, local business owners, artists, city staff, architects, and educators. The information received from the stakeholders was well-rounded and informative, laying the foundation for the Emeryville public art master planning process.

In addition, Emeryville residents were invited to participate in a series of workshops, where they were asked to consider geographic priorities, what new types of art they would like to see, and how they would like to see the Art in Public Places Program grow. Participants were also asked to consider what values and attributes make Emeryville stand out from its context in a region known for its artistic excellence and innovation. In addition to the workshop series,

What

From the public engagement and stakeholder interviews, a priority action plan was created with six major goals and strategies, and nine conceptual projects and six conceptual programs.

The plan was adopted on November 15, 2016.

Client

City of Emeryville, California

Team

Designing Local (Lead)

Services

Public Art Planning

Public Engagement

People

Amanda Golden (Lead)

Josh Lapp