Hello Mary,

Austin AIPP started LaunchPAD (Public Art Duo) last year.  It pairs emerging LOCAL artists with currently commissioned, more seasoned artists on projects with budgets over $200K.  It is meant to be a peer-to-peer relationship as much as a mentorship, allowing for both emerging and established artists to gain MORE experience in the technical aspects of a large scale public art commission.    

The LaunchPAD artists were selected by a 3-member panel consisting of the commissioned artist, our AIPP Panel liaison and our Arts Commission liaison. 

The responsibilities are defined at the onset of the project after a kick-off meeting and discussion between both artists.  The LP artist creates a work plan with several personal goals that have tasks associated with the project in service to the commissioned artist.  The work plan is a living document that can be tweaked as more or less work is needed during the process.  So far it has fared better to have the LP artist create their work plan and have ownership in the tasks they are completing—of course with oversite from a project manager and the commissioned artist.  The LP artist is paid a flat fee of $15,000 + travel for a studio visit during fabrication. 

Successes:

· Several artists have reported receiving commissions outside of Austin using the knowledge learned in the LP program. 

· Both commissioned and LP artists have reported the benefits of having additional eyes and feedback on designs and presentations. 

· LP artists are reporting vast knowledge received in the City permitting process. 

Challenges:

Defining and balancing the responsibilities has been challenging.  The program is a little amorphous which is both good and hard.  It allows for the most possible growth from both artists but also sometimes can be confusing.  I think having clear expectations from the onset has been the best lesson learned so far.  Making sure both parties understand this is not an intern relationship for busy work is helpful in guiding the overall.  Having the project manager cc’d on all correspondence is helpful too in guiding the parties as to what serves the LP artist’s goals as well as the project. 

I’m sure I have more info I could give but those are the highlights!  Good luck and please reach out if you would like to discuss further.  The program has garnered a lot of interest from local artists as well as national public art programs wanting information!

Marjorie  

Marjorie Flanagan | Art in Public Places Project Manager

marjorie.flanagan@austintexas.gov

Cultural Arts Division | Economic Development Department

P.O. Box 1088, Austin, TX 78767

Direct: (512) 974-8706 | Main: (512) 974-7700

austincreates.com | facebook.com/AustinAIPP | publicartist.org/AustinAIPP

From: public_art_network@americansforthearts.simplelists.com [mailto:public_art_network@americansforthearts.simplelists.com] On Behalf Of Chou, Mary
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2018 12:24 PM
To: public_art_network@americansforthearts.simplelists.com
Subject: advice on public art projects with mentorship component

Dear Public Art Colleagues,

I am interested in hearing from administrators who have managed - and artists who have participated in - public art projects that involve a mentorship component – pairing a more experienced artist in public art, with an artist(s) who is new to public art.

- How were the artists (both experienced and emerging) selected and paired?

- How were the responsibilities between the artists defined/structured? Was this set by the commissioning agency, or through conversation between the artists?  What was the breakdown of the artist fee?

- What were some challenges (lessons learned) and successes from these projects?

Thanks in advance for your help!  And I will share out the information I collect with those who are interested – just let me know.

Best,

Mary

Mary Chou, Project Manager
Public Art Program
San Francisco Arts Commission
401 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 325
San Francisco, CA 94102
(p) 415-252-2233
www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection/

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