June 09, 2010
Public art in the metro has a new home on the Internet.
Omaha by Design and the Omaha Public Art Commission will launch www.publicartomaha.org Thursday, June 17. The web site, a celebration of the city’s public art offerings, includes a searchable database of individual works by location, medium and artist. Its launch will be celebrated June 17 at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, 724 S. 12th Street, from 6:00 to 7:30pm. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served, and giveaways will be available while supplies last.
“Creating public awareness for our city’s fabulous art and our need to preserve and maintain it are top priorities for the Omaha Public Art Commission,” said Larry Ferguson, chair of the Omaha Public Art Commission. “It’s the first time in the city’s history that a database with such a wealth of information about public art in Omaha has been made available to the public. We are thankful for the public-private cooperation between the Omaha Public Art Commission, Omaha by Design, the City of Omaha and our private benefactors who have so generously helped to make this web site a reality.”
Omaha’s public art collection includes outstanding works by local, regional and national artists that reflect a variety of styles and traditions, said Connie Spellman, director of Omaha by Design. “We are pleased to partner with the Omaha Public Art Commission to give our city’s public art the recognition it deserves while making it more accessible to residents and visitors,” she said.
The new site will allow users to keep tabs on upcoming public art events and announcements, locate temporary installations, take a walking tour, get a piece listed in the database, find out more about the city’s galleries and museums, sponsor new projects and donate. Those interested in donating can contribute to the city’s Preserve Omaha Public Art Fund or donate a work of art, Ferguson said.
The web site is supported by the Fund for Omaha through the Omaha Community Foundation in honor of Terry Haney. The logo and web site were developed by Eleven19 Communications. April Corbet, a member of The Attic in the College of Information Science and Technology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, did the coding for the site’s searchable database. The Attic, a group of undergraduate and graduate students, takes on web site projects for community nonprofit organizations with the intent of researching new ways to use technologies and present information in an interesting and understandable form while preserving data relationships across multiple platforms and systems. Jodi Taylor, a volunteer with Omaha by Design, researched public art in the metro and logged the information into the database.
Members of the Public Art Omaha Project Committee are Joan Baillon, Donovan Beery, Ferguson, Spellman and Taylor. For more information, contact Omaha by Design at 402.554.4010 or info@omahabydesign.org.