Project Overview

In 2008, the ARTWalk 2 Planning Committee in Rochester, New York invited the sixth grade students at Genesee Community Charter School to make a meaningful contribution to the expansion of public art in Rochester. A Revitalization Report is a professional quality paper, written in response to this request that includes both research on public art and recommendations to the city for developing a public art program.

In preparation for writing this report, the students traveled in small groups to four cities in the United States: Seattle, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Washington D.C. to view and learn about different types of public art. The first section of this report includes an overview of the artwork in these cities; the planning process for selecting, installing and maintenance for the art; the economic costs and funding for the art; the different types of art and artists selected and the impact the work has on each community.  The students identify the best unique practices for public art in each city and incorporate them into their proposal.

The second section of the report is a recommendation for different types and locations for installing art in the City of Rochester.  This proposal focuses on the types of public art that children find appealing, including interactive work, and “seeing ordinary things become extraordinary” for which they cite the Claes Oldenburg’s sculpture Spoonbridge and Cherry in Minneapolis as an example. The students also recommend incorporating artwork into the cities hardscape, using gateways to welcome people to different neighborhoods and to use art as a means to tell the history of Rochester. 

The students presented their report to the ARTWalk 2 planning committee in the spring of 2009.