"Agency, Intervention & the Public Realm" explores how art, design, and
community intersect

This spring, The University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation will bring together a diverse group of designers, artists and experts to explore how art and design can engage the public, spark a dialogue and better communities. Agency, Intervention & the Public Realm is a semester-long series of lectures and exhibits featuring examples of design, people and place converging, and the stories of the professionals who lead these efforts. The series will kick off on February 15, 2013 with the annual Wiebenson lecture by Bryan Bell, Founder and Executive Director of Design Corps, and the engine behind the Public Interest Design movement.

“The public realm is our shared living room, where we connect as individuals and communities,” said Ronit Eisenbach, Director of the Kibel Gallery. “Our lectures this spring feature people who choose to use their talents to investigate the public space—both physical and virtual—and engage others to make meaningful places.
The exhibitions challenge the way we think about the role of art and design in the public realm.”

Public Interest Design: Wiebenson Lecture with Bryan Bell- February 15, 2013
Bryan Bell is the architect behind Public Interest Design, a growing movement that integrates community engagement into the fundamental practice of design and places emphasis on the “triple bottom line,” integrating social, ecological and economic issues within sustainable design projects (coined SEED). As Founder and Executive Director of Design Corps, Bell leads the charge in creating positive, sustainable change in communities around the globe.

A selection of winners from the 2012 SEED Awards will run in tandem with Bell’s lecture in the Linear Gallery beginning February 15. Bell’s lecture will also compliment a two-day Public Interest Design Institute (PIDI) Training Program, offering design professionals the tools needed to engage in the rapidly growing field of social design.

Learn more about the Public Interest Design Institute Training Program

Public Art and Place-Making- February 25, 2013
Using film, pictures and the art of successful public art communities as a backdrop,  a roundtable discussion will explore how architects, planners, public artists and community members can work together to create great places. The discussion, Public Art and Place-making brings together several professionals working in the public art discipline: Anne Delaney, Executive Director, Initiative for Public Art- Reston (IPAR); Angela Adams, Public Art Administrator, Arlington Arts; Liesel Fenner, Public Art Manager, Americans for the Arts; and Mary Konsoulis, Curator. Public Art and Place-making will run in conjunction with “Reston: The Art of Community,” an exhibit curated by UMD adjunct professor Mary Konsoulis, and features the works of Architecture Professor Ronit Eisenbach, Dance Professor Sharon Masur and Art Professor Foon Sham.

Public Space, White Walls and the Internet: Evan Roth Lecture- April 5, 2013
Capping off the series, artist and MAPP alumnus Evan Roth (B.S. Architecture ’00), returns to campus to discuss his practice and how hacker philosophies can be applied to making art online, in the gallery and in the city. A co-founder of the Graffiti Research Lab and Free Art & Technology Lab, Roth was awarded the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper Hewitt design award in 2012. His work is part of a permanent collection at New York's Museum of Modern Art. Casual Computing, an exhibit of Roth’s work, will be on display in the Kibel Gallery beginning January 25. He also plans to work with a multi-disciplinary group of students from the architecture, art and digital cultures & creativity programs while on campus. Roth’s lecture and exhibit is presented in collaboration with The University of Maryland Digital Cultures & Creativity Program, Department of Art, Honors College & the Art Gallery.

To read more about the 2013 gallery programs and exhibits, visit the Galleries home page.