Glad to hear the selections for Year in Review are going swimmingly. Curiuous to see what you and Fred come up with!........I have been  thinking about your comments and I too agree that public art is alive and vital–simultanesouly, at this time our industry is currently in an  important transition.

I believe that the audience and viewer engagement, participation with “public art” is shifting to one of where ideas, contemporary frameworks and conceptual experimentation is ripe for a  new public engagement, yes - I am utopic in spirit,.... however there has been a   move in attitude - I wonder if others would agree?....and it is time and many are ready for contemporary innovation and the impact of the artist to become more expressive. Without artists, there is no art in the public realm. Does there need to be a divide between studio aesthetics and great art in the public realm? How is a good concept judged "good"?

Although I am still shocked by the way that Glee has been accepted by mainstream America, it is comforting to know that creator Ryan Murphy's depiction of the struggles of outsiders trying to fit into traditional high school stereotypes has become a television and iTunes hit.

There has already been some media coverage of the sudden rise in interest in high school show choirs as a result of Mr. Schu's antics and now last night's episode hit home a bit harder than the Madonna episode, Kurt's coming out story, or the breakup of Rachel and Finn.

In a combination that can only be described as genius, cult TV/film writer/producer Joss Whedon directed last night's episode dealing with what so many music, art, dance, and theater programs across the nation are fighting—budget cuts.

It has been ten years since the Public Art Network came under the umbrella of Americans for the Arts and what a decade it’s been! To celebrate PAN’s 10th anniversary we are going back to the Public Art Preconference format just this year with this year’s Redefining the Public Paradigm, June 23-25, 2010 in Baltimore prior to the annual Americans for the Arts convention.

The Preconference is organized with keynote presentations as well as roundtable workshops categorized under the themes of Technical Assistance and Envisioning Possibilities. Each roundtable workshop will be facilitated by topic experts with discussion among all participants. The goal is to engage emerging and established artists and administrators to discuss the topic issue, share opinions, strategies, tactics, and develop responses and solutions to the issue. Outcomes of the roundtable workshops will generate recommendations for best practices, legislative priorities, areas in need of further exploration, and articulating the needs of the field in the next few years.

Technical Assistance sessions include: Conservation; Collections Management; Contracts and Copyright; Developing an Artist Training Program; Public Engagement and Evaluation Methodologies; and, Public Art-Private Development Ordinances.

Envisioning Possibilities sessions include:  Innovative Project Management; Social Practice and Community Participation; Technology-New Media-Maintenance; Unhinged-New Considerations in Public Art; International Models; and Temporary Public Art.

The packet arrived along with the password. 390 applications of public art completed in 2009. And Fred Wilson and I are supposed to co-jury the 40 best?

So many efforts to compare and rank: a no-budget, ephemeral painted snowscape and a million-plus permanent plaza of granite and bronze. A 5-hour, 30-artist free public cabaret and a 6-part suspended wood sculpture donated by its creator.

Time and performance versus place and design? Repeated enjoyment vs. remarkable moment? Is it a greater achievement to create new architectural spaces or reinvigorate depleted historical sites? And sculptures that are reconstituted in diverse sites – are they really new in 2009 or newly contextualized existing works?

If there is any trend in the 2010 jurying for YIR it is that public art has succeeded, wildly.