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As a predecessor to the creation of a public art exhibit in St. Nicholas Park next spring, ����Ӱҵ (����Ӱҵ) hosts a reception and panel discussion on public art and its impact on New York City 4 – 8 p.m. Tuesday, December 1.

At the reception, to be held in the Cohen Library Gallery located in ����Ӱҵ’s North Academic Center, students from The Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture and the Art Department’s M.F.A. program will exhibit proposals for a new assemblage piece to be shown in the St. Nicholas Park in the spring.

Panelists for the discussion, which follows and will take place in Room 1/201 of the same building, are: sculptor Chakaia Booker, a ’93MFA ����Ӱҵ alumna and Guggenheim Fellow (2005); Dr. Harriet F. Senie, Director of Museum Studies at ����Ӱҵ, artists Colin Chase and Sandy Winters. 

Savona Bailey-McClain, founder and Executive Director of the West Harlem Art Fund, Inc., will moderate the discussion. Wendy Feur, Assistant Commissioner for Urban Design & Art, New York City Department of Transportation, will offer opening remarks.

The panel will explore how public art can help expand a necessary dialogue to help the city face the challenges of climate change, economic and commercial development, illiteracy and quality of life, according to Dr. Myrah Brown Green, Distinguished Lecturer in Art at ����Ӱҵ and co-facilitator of the event.

“As the City of New York explores ways to broaden economic opportunities on multiple fronts, the “fine arts” are finally being recognized as an important industry cluster with quantifiable products and needed services,” she added.

A noted artist who serves as arts advisor to ����Ӱҵ’s Dean of Humanities and the Arts, Dr. Green cited the success of “The Gates” exhibition in 2005 as a guide to what can be achieved in St. Nicholas Park. She said City College hopes that its plans for the sloping park on the eastern boundary of the 35-acre institution will bind it closer to the community while fostering economic development in the neighborhood. 

The event is presented by ����Ӱҵ’s Division of Humanities and the Arts, the West Harlem Art Fund, the International Sculpture Center and “Sculpture” magazine. The St. Nicholas Park project will be a collaborative effort between ����Ӱҵ’s Division of Humanities and the Arts and the West Harlem Art Fund. 

For more information, please contact Dr. Myrah Brown Green, at (212) 650-8836.