CONCORDIA'S PUBLIC ART POLICY PROJECT

Concordia has a new public art policy that will govern its public art collection and future art programming — a policy for which it seeks input from the community.

Discussions have been taking place within art institutions about the methods of acquisition, representation and decision-making processes, encouraged by The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and the Black Lives Matter movement. Given this timely moment in the art world, Concordia is also examining the purpose and positioning of its current public art collection and future programming.

The Public Art Lead managed the development of Concordia’s public art policy with the assistance from consulting firm Communications MDR. Community consultations, the university’s Strategic Plan and the Indigenous Directions Action Plan informed the creation of the policy. With guidance from an Advisory Committee, the Public Art Lead will implement the newly created policy to direct the development of the collection and future programming.

• Improve and expand engagement and pedagogical opportunities with the collection for Concordia’s diverse communities, students, faculty, staff and the general public.
• Provide a formal framework, including a mission statement and curatorial vision.
• Provide direction for making appraisals and acquisition decisions, allocating resources and creating accountability.
• Ensure best practices in caring for permanent works as well as programming ephemeral art.
• Ensure inclusive best practices and take into consideration the university’s location on unceded Indigenous territories. Concordia’s Indigenous Directions Action Plan provides an important foundation in this regard.
• Create Terms of Reference for an Advisory Committee.

A podcast hosted by 4th Space delves into the multiple aspects of a university public art collection and outlines the context and objectives that will frame Concordia’s public art policy project.

This podcast is available as a text transcript.