Get Your Town on the Map with Public Art Archive

Public art is an integral part of effective placemaking. It turns everyday spaces into places of memory, imagination, and shared identity. Whether it’s a mural splashed across the side of a downtown building, a bronze sculpture erected in one of the community’s parks, or an interactive light installation that transforms a plaza at night, public art shapes how we experience our communities.

What Is the Public Art Archive?

A new web platform has been developed to help residents and visitors find these unique expressions within your community. The Public Art Archive is a free, open-access online resource dedicated to documenting public art locations. Since its launch, the archive has made public art more discoverable, more researched, and more appreciated by everyone.

Think of it as a dynamic, ever-growing atlas of artistic expression in public spaces.

What You Can Find in the Archive

The Public Art Archive is a great resource to get your public art projects the attention they deserve. PAA is the largest database that is dedicated to cataloging public art with over 30,000 artworks documented worldwide. But what types of art can you find in the archive? Here are a few examples:

• Sculptures, murals, mosaics, monuments, memorials, digital works, and temporary installations
• Artist biographies and project histories
• Location maps and photography
• Collection-level information from participating public art programs
• Thematic collections and curated highlights

With new art being added to the archive on a regular basis, this resource is only going to grow in popularity. But art doesn’t get added by itself. It is important for your community to show a concerted effort to add art to the database.

Why the Public Art Archive Matters

Communities can use the Public Art Archive to keep an inventory of their public artworks. But the Archive is also a good platform to share the art within the community with residents, tourists, and online visitors. It is a free archive, which is perfect for smaller communities with limited budgets. With a little effort, small towns can share their public art collection, enhancing local education and helping to cultivate a sense of community.

As a web-based platform, the Archive effectively places your town “on the map,” a map that connects people globally. Disregard any potential fame from your community’s public art collection; the Archive has the ability to put your town on the map.

Final Thoughts

Public art enriches our daily lives and is an integral part of successful placemaking. It can also shape your town’s identity, telling a story about who you are as a community. Archiving your community’s projects in the Public Art Archive expands the reach of that story.

If you haven’t explored the archive yet, it is worth a visit. Check it out and think about how it can help the public art in your community shine.