Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, has honored three Louisville Metro Public Art projects, all of which were a part of Connect│Disconnect: A Public Art Experience on view during fall 2015. Americans for the Arts honored 38 outstanding public arts projects created in 2015 through the Public Art Network (PAN) Year in Review program, the only national program that specifically recognizes the most compelling public art.

“To have three of 38 nationally recognized public art projects come from Louisville is a terrific honor,” Mayor Greg Fischer said. “Last fall’s Connect│Disconnect brought a community together to experience a temporary art walk on the Louisville Loop and the Ohio River in an overlooked location, opening the door for such spaces to be considered platforms for public art. Future public art initiatives will continue to provide opportunities for artists to present new work in public spaces.”

The Connect │Disconnect artworks selected by American for the Arts are Beneath the Surface by artist Mary Carothers, Upriver/Downriver by artist Mark Reigelman II, and River Monument (glomus) by artist collaborative SIMPARCH. The works were chosen from 260 entries across the country and recognized today at Americans for the Arts’ 2016 Annual Convention in Boston.

“These Public Art Network Year in Review selections illustrate that public art has the power to enhance our lives on a scale that little else can. Whether subtly beautiful or vibrantly jolting, a public artwork has the singular ability to make citizens going about everyday business stop, think, and through the power of art appreciate a moment, no matter how brief,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “I congratulate the artists and commissioning groups for these community treasures, and I look forward to honoring more great works in the years to come.”

Connect│Disconnect ran from August 28 – November 30, 2015 on the Louisville Loop between 8th and 12th Streets and was the first project commissioned by Louisville Metro in collaboration with the Commission on Public Art.

The 2016 PAN Year in Review jurors were Lucas Antony Cowan, Public Art Curator of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy in Boston; Constance Y. White, Lead Creative of SLDcreative in Dallas, Texas; and Franka Diehnelt, Co-owner of merge conceptual design in Santa Monica, California.

The Public Art Network (PAN), a program of Americans for the Arts, is designed to provide services to the diverse field of public art and to develop strategies and tools to improve communities through public art. The network’s constituents are public art professionals, visual artists, design professionals, and communities and organizations planning public art projects and programs.

For more information on Public Art, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/public-art