March News

2013 Art in Public Places Lecture Series

This series explores the ways artworks impact public spaces, as the UNT Percent for Art Program is underway. If you missed Mary Beebe's presentation, please stay tuned for an April presentation by Mary Zlot, Curatorial and Collection Management Consultant, who will speak about her work at Cowboys Stadium.

Upcoming Percent for Art Projects

Details will be available soon for Bruce Hall Cafeteria, Discovery Park, the UNT Business Center, and the University Union.

UNT Artist Registry

The UNT Artist Registry is free and open to all artists and designers and is used as the primary application venue for Percent for Art Projects. Artists are invited to create an online profile that can be updated at any time. The registry now has an option to select the project(s) for which you wish to apply. 

What is Public Art at UNT?

2013 Art in Public Places Lecture Series

As the UNT Percent for Art Program is underway with projects completed at the Kristen Farmer Autism Center, in progress at Sage Hall and Willis Library, and upcoming at Bruce Hall Cafeteria, Discovery Park, and the Student Union, the UNT Art in Public Places Program presents artists, curators and experts in the field discussing the impact and potential of artworks in public spaces.

Tuesday, March 5

Mary Beebe
Director, Stuart Collection, University of California, San Diego
2:15 pm
Sage Hall Room 116

Mary Beebe, photo
by Philipp Scholz-Ritterman

Mary Beebe has served as Director of the Stuart Collection since the collection's inception in 1981. The Stuart Collection is an ongoing program commissioning outdoor sculpture for the 1200-acre campus at the University of California in San Diego. This program has received national and international recognition and includes major artworks by Michael Asher, John Baldessari, Jeny Holzer, Robert Irwin, Barbara Kruger, Nam June Paik, and Kiki Smith, among others. Prior to joining UCSD, Beebe was Director for nine years of the Portland Center for the Visual Arts in Oregon, with previous positions at the Portland Art Museum, Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University. Beebe graduated from Bryn Mawr College and attended the Sorbonne University in Paris. She serves on numerous boards and committees and has lectured widely, including serving on panels for the National Endowment of the Arts and as juror and advisor for public art projects nationwide and in Europe.

April TBD
Mary Zlot
Curatorial and Collection Management Consultant, Cowboys Stadium


August TBD
Artist Panel


Please check back for up-to-date event information!
This program is made possible by the UNT Fine Arts Series.

OPEN HOUSE AT UNT AUTISM CENTER

Thirteen artworks have been purchased for the UNT Kristen Farmer Autism Center and will be on view next month! Thank you to all the talented artists who expressed interest in this project and participated in the UNT Artist Registry. Registry profiles remain active and can be updated at any time.

Open House
UNT Autism Center
490 S I-35E, Denton (on the south-bound access road between Fort Worth Dr and Teasley Ln)
Saturday, November 3 from 9 - 11 am

Artworks are by Texas artists Lola Campbell (Denison), Trey Egan (Lewisville), Grant Manier (Houston), Teri Muse (Argyle), and Naomi Rosen (Kileen).  The works will be installed in the Center's reception room, parent conference room, and administrative common areas.

Trey Egan, Opening Day, 2011. Oil on canvas, 60 x 60 inches.

Open Percent for Art Project

The UNT Kristin Farmer Autism Center has $15,000 available for the purchase and installation of existing artworks for the walls of the Center's reception room.  Preference will be given to artists who have Autism Spectrum Disorders, including Autism and Asperger's Disorder, or who have strong ties to autism. The Center seeks to create a warm, comforting environment for parents and family members, who visit to complete paperwork, attend therapy sessions, and/or participate in training or other events.  Because the Center's mission includes positively impacting the lives of individuals with autism, artworks that suggest themes of care, hope, optimism, joy and/or related emotions will be given preference.

Artworks will be selected from the UNT Artist Registry during late July 2012. The deadline for creating a profile on the registry to be eligible for this project is July 13, 2012.* A description of the project with specifics about the location is available for download by visiting the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design website. (Scroll to the bottom of the home page and click on the green bar titled "UNT Art in Public Places"; the project is listed under Current Projects.)

Questions: contact Tracee.Robertson@unt.edu

*An artist may create and/or update a free profile on the UNT Artist Registry at any time. Each UNT Percent for Art project has an opening date, when the project is posted, and a closing date, when all profiles on the registry are reviewed for eligibility relative to that project. In the artist profile section titled "Artistic Background", there is an open field in which artists may express interest in a specific project.

UNT Art in Public Places Artist Registry

The University of North Texas initiated the Art in Public Places Program two years ago. In support of the program we have now created an Artist Registry at http://art.unt.edu/forms/appp-registration. Artists (or their representatives) may join the registry at anytime. Once an account is established, artworks and other information may be updated as necessary.

This is an exciting new opportunity for the campus and for artists in our region and throughout the world. We hope, over time, to transform the campus with the creation of iconic spaces and the placement of contemporary works that will enhance the learning and working environments within the buildings and outside. At present, we are working on two immediate projects which have budgets of $15,000 to $30,000 for purchase of works for the Willis Library and Discovery Park, the science and engineering park operated by the university. Another project upcoming in the next year is Sage Hall, which will have a budget of $20,000. We anticipate projects in the $100,000 - $300,000 range with in 2012-2103 as new buildings come on line. Through a separate program our new Business Leadership Building has a budget this year of $100,000 for art as well. In the coming years, projects in the $500,000+ range are anticipated.

We would like to work with you and artists you know in the most convenient and fair way possible, so we are asking for your help in reaching out to artists whose work would be appropriate for these commissions and purchases. We will be using the registry as our primary source for selecting works and will also be sending out specific calls for applications for projects. Our selection process will include a small committee of three people (including a member of our APP committee, an arts professional in the region, and an artist from the area) who will select the artists from the registry whose works will be reviewed for a specific project. The final selection will be made by a panel from the building in which the work will be installed, with a liaison from the selection committee. Hopefully, it will be an expeditious process that, overtime, will select contemporary works from now into the future.

Please help us enrich the cultural resources of our campus and community. The UNT Art Collection includes currently over 60 documented works featured on the ArtPath map of the campus.

If you have questions or suggestions please contact me at milnes@unt.edu.

Multicultural Center Mural - Installed

UNT Multicultural Center Mural

The Art in Public Places Committee has selected Chicago artist Damon Lamar Reed to complete the project. The Multicultural Center, located on the second floor of the Eagle Student Union, will be officially opened on September 1, 2010.


The UNT Multicultural Center was established with the goal that it would be a place where students and community members could experience the cultural wealth of the University, with a central purpose to teach diversity through student engagement and promote student success. The Multicultural Center provides resources, information, educational opportunities, and events that build inclusion focusing on five areas of diversity: ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and disability.

For more information about the mission and activities of the Center, see http://edo.unt.edu/content/multicultural-center and http://edo.unt.edu/content/womens-center.

Additional Projects:

The Art in Public Places Program is currently coordinating two additional projects for buildings on the UNT campus.