Campus Public Art: Putting Art History into Practice

In the fall of 2024, my studio colleague and I tested a new pedagogical method at Colgate University: linked, partially team-taught courses in the histories and practices of public art that asked students to collaborate across disciplines as they mined campus history in order to propose, create, and install commemorative works of public art for the university community. This model allowed for two distinct courses that collaborated throughout the semester to examine the function and stakes of public art, public space, and public discourse from both an art historical and practice-based perspective. Art history students acted as commissioners and used campus archives and alumni oral histories to draft Requests for Proposals for public-facing work that commemorated an aspect of Colgate’s history; while studio students emulated the commissioning process and worked alongside their commissioners to conduct site visits, craft maquettes, and ultimately produce original art works and accompanying educational resources that were exhibited across campus. This presentation explores how studies of public art might function as an untapped space for co-curricular innovation in the arts by foregrounding experience-based learning. This pedagogical model not only granted students the opportunity to put theory into practice, but also to engage community in their work as art historians and practicing artists.