ArtsFairfax Unveils Public Art Locator
Interactive New App Identifies and Maps Public Art in Fairfax County
Fairfax, VA (July 13, 2023) – ArtsFairfax, the nonprofit designated as the local arts agency for Fairfax County, today unveils a new web application designed to identify and map public art in Fairfax County. Free and easy to use, the interactive app empowers County residents to share what they see as public art in their community.
“The ArtsFairfax Public Art Locator will be a critical planning tool as we continue work on the County’s Public Art Master Plan. By crowd-sourcing public art in our community, this inventory will help us identify where there are gaps and greater needs for community enhancement and creative placemaking,” says Linda Sullivan, ArtsFairfax President & CEO.
ArtsFairfax worked closely with the Fairfax County Department of Information Technology’s GIS & Mapping Services Division to develop the technology and application’s user experience. Leveraging Fairfax County aerial imagery, map layers, and other data, the Locator was designed by Chip Galloway, GIS Analyst, and is the first of its kind in the County.
“Our goal was to create a highly user-friendly experience. We achieved this through seamless automation that applies geographic information to crowdsourced public art pieces, coupled with an interactive database that is viewable on devices of all sizes,” says Galloway. Additional application features include automatic geographic analysis that provides spatial context. Users who discover a work of public art can upload images and provide written descriptions with the option of providing more detailed information if it is available, or contact information for project communications, if desired. When using the application on your computer, you can filter the artwork by category, jurisdiction, Supervisor District, and/or Revitalization District.
“The ArtsFairfax Public Art Locator is designed to tag any experience the user identifies as public art, whether it is permanent or temporary,” says Lisa Mariam, ArtsFairfax Senior Director of Grants & Services and the project lead for the Public Art Locator. “If the artwork is available in a public setting and accessible day and night, we want it captured in this inventory.”
Visit ArtsFairfax.org/PublicArtLocator to give the application a try.
Public art is defined as art in public places visible and accessible by the general community, such as sculpture, murals, and installations enhancing public spaces including but not limited to public furniture, walls, street and bridge enhancements, earthworks, light-based or multimedia works, and other pathfinding, interactive, or participatory installations.
The Public Art Locator is moderated by ArtsFairfax staff to verify tagged art, fact check, and maintain a digital environment that is appropriate and enjoyable for all ages.
The Public Art Master Plan is still in development and follows the recently accepted Master Arts Plan for Facilities, two efforts guided by the Fairfax County Arts Committee, a mix of County staff leadership and volunteer stakeholders organized to provide the County with thoughtful planning that will result in broader, more equitably accessible arts activities available to all County residents, employees, and visitors. Assuring the arts are a vital presence in everyone’s Fairfax County experience is a key goal of the Countywide Strategic Plan and One Fairfax.
“Our vision on the Public Art Master Plan Task Force is to design an actionable plan for equitable community engagement and an arts presence in the lives of all who call Fairfax County home or who come visit us,” says Leila Gordon, Fairfax County Arts Committee Chair and ArtsFairfax Board member. “Art tagged in the Locator will show us how residents discover and interact with public art in Fairfax so that we can better prioritize next steps in creating a plan serving the entire County.”
Visit ArtsFairfax.org/MasterArtsPlans for more details.
Additional ArtsFairfax efforts to strengthen public art in the County include Project Support Grants for public art projects, partnership with Tysons Corner Center to support the temporary exhibition of local artists, and continuous service as a resource and connector between the arts sector and local opportunities. In the coming months, ArtsFairfax will launch an Artist Census to identify and assess the needs of independent artists, including visual, performing, literary, and other arts workers throughout Fairfax.
About ArtsFairfax
ArtsFairfax is the nonprofit designated as Fairfax County’s local arts agency. Dedicated to the belief that arts are essential to a thriving community, the ArtsFairfax mission is to expand support for and access to arts and culture opportunities for the more than 1.2 million residents across Fairfax County, the City of Fairfax, and the City of Falls Church. By offering informational, financial, and programmatic services, ArtsFairfax promotes the role of arts and culture to deepen social engagement, create a sense of place, and fuel economic growth. Incorporated as a 501(c)(3) since 1964, ArtsFairfax provides these services to all who contribute to and experience arts in Fairfax County, and is funded in part by the County, Virginia Commission for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as corporations, foundations, and individuals.
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