Exploring best practices for building a university's public art collection

UnrestrictedThe purpose of this thesis is to identify the best practices used to facilitate on-campus collection building that consistently produce exceptional public art collections at universities in the United States. Research methodology explores how these best practices contribute to effective on-campus collection building and, ultimately, enhance a university s identity. This thesis raises five important issues: (1) What is public art? (2) What does it mean to build a public art collection? (3) How does public art contribute to the university s identity building? (4) How does public art contribute to the relationship between the university and its public space? (5) What are the best practices for forging this relationship through a public art collection?; The research for this thesis is based on the results of an informal survey conducted by Public Art Review 2006 which selected 10 of the top universities and colleges in the United States considered to have the best on-campus public art collections. Evaluations of each of the 10 universities are discussed, and research materials are examined. Criteria that provide a better understanding of what "best practices" are, and what role they serve the university in acquiring, increasing, and/or maintaining a successful public art collection, are documented