Public Art Lincoln Seeks New Director

Title: Public Art Lincoln Director

Reports to: Public Art Lincoln Board of Directors

Job Type: Contracted part-time employee (20 hours per week)

Public Art Lincoln

Public Art Lincoln is an initiative of the City of Lincoln and the Lincoln Community Foundation to develop a public art collection of national prominence in Lincoln, which will enrich the quality of life for Lincoln’s residents, complement the City’s exceptional educational and cultural amenities and support a positive economic environment in the community. Public Art Lincoln advises the City on the curation, placement, and maintenance of over 50 public art installations throughout Lincoln and will soon be embarking on a strategy to substantially increase our public art offerings.

Position Summary

The Public Art Lincoln Director is a pivotal role responsible for bringing this vision and strategy to life. The Public Art Lincoln Director (the Director) is a part-time (20 hours per week), contract employee of the Lincoln Community Foundation, the fiscal sponsor for Public Art Lincoln. The Director leads Public Art Lincoln’s effort to build community awareness and financial support for public art in Lincoln, assists Public Art Lincoln’s efforts to support the City’s management of its public art collection and provides development, marketing, and organizational administrative support for Public Art Lincoln as directed by the Public Art Lincoln board of directors.

Specific duties may include the following:

  • Organizes and provides staff support for the Public Art Lincoln Board and Committees, including working with committee chairs to create and distribute meeting schedules, agendas, and minutes. Maintains and organizes the records of Public Art Lincoln.
  • Assists and coordinates donor cultivation, stewardship, grant writing, and other fundraising efforts for Public Art Lincoln projects including, but not limited to, pending art acquisitions and installations, sustaining and growing funding for general operations and the endowment, and facilitating planned giving discussions and gifts.
  • Assists and oversees the planning, coordination, and execution of public events as directed by the board of advisors.
  • Provides outreach to various groups throughout the community to build awareness and support for the public art collection and for Public Art Lincoln.
  • Facilitates preparation of fundraising, marketing, outreach, and public relations materials.
  • Coordinates fundraising activities with community partners such as the Sheldon Arts Association, the University of Nebraska Foundation, the Lincoln Community Foundation, and the Lincoln Parks Foundation.
  • Develops and manages a website for Public Art Lincoln in coordination with the Lincoln Arts Council and the City of Lincoln.
  • Assists the City of Lincoln with coordinating management and maintenance of the public art collection and works to ensure Public Art Lincoln is well-positioned to advocate for art with City staff and elected officials.
  • Builds and maintains a relationship between Public Art Lincoln and City planners to provide assistance and guidance during project planning.

Experience and Qualifications:

The Director should possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities to effectively execute the management, coordination, and development functions of Public Art Lincoln outlined in the job description. The Director must have great interpersonal communication skills, be able to work collaborative with a wide array of stakeholders including City government representatives, donors, board members, and artists. Preference for individuals who possess an interest and experience in public art; basic graphic design skills are a plus. The experience and qualifications can be evidenced through a mix of education, professional, and/or volunteer experience in the duties outlined in the job description.

Compensation

  • The Director will be paid between $30/hr and $38/hr for an estimated average of 20/hours per week
  • The Director will receive an allowance for work from home related expenses such as internet
  • The Director will be reimbursed for mileage for work related travel

Application

A resume and cover letter can be submitted to Allisong@LCF.org.

Public Art Lincoln’s 2020 Billboard Art Project Receives the Mayor’s Choice Award

Public Art Lincoln received the Mayor’s Choice award at the Lincoln Arts Council’s Mayor’s Arts Award on November 8, 2021. If you missed the ceremony, watch the recorded livestream here: https://artscene.org/…/may…/2021-mayors-arts-awards.html

The Dedication of Tilted Donut #7: Photos & Video

View the Dedication Recording Here

The pandemic-delayed dedication of Tilted Donut #7 was held October 7, 2021 in Lincoln’s Trago Park. Attendees heard remarks from Kathy LeBaron, Co-Chair of Public Art Lincoln; Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird; George Neubert, Director Emeritus of the Sheldon Museum of Art,;and Robert Duncan, Chair Emeritus of Public Art Lincoln.

Created by internationally acclaimed sculptor, Fletcher Benton (1931-2019), the work was gifted to the City of Lincoln through the generosity of the artist’s estate in late 2019. Benton was a pioneer of kinetic sculpture and was known for his monumental abstract geometric works that often appear to defy gravity.

The gift to the City was facilitated by Public Art Lincoln. Special thanks to Bobbie Benton, Michael Roby, George Neubert, the City of Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department, and donors to the Public Art Lincoln Artmakers Endowment.

MORE WALKING TOURS! Get Out and Enjoy Art

We are happy to announce that two more walking tours, focused on artwork in the City’s collection, are now available. Enjoy the tours through our our public art app, Otocast (click on the image above for more info), or view the walking tour map via Google maps here: http://www.lincolnpublicart.org/find-art/. You can even print it out.

The three tours of Downtown, Woods Park, and Union Plaza/Trago Park, are each one mile or less.

More tours will be added so check back often.

WATCH NOW -Tilted Donut #7: A Discussion

Watch as Public Art Lincoln board member emeritus Robert Duncan; Michael Roby, Director of the Fletcher Benton Studio; and Bobbie Benton, wife of the artist, discuss the creation of Tilted Donut #7, and other works, by internationally acclaimed artist Fletcher Benton. 

Through the generosity of the Benton estate, Tilted Donut #7, was gifted to the City of Lincoln in late 2019. Using funds from the endowment built by our Art Maker donors, the work was sited in Trago Park, a beautiful and accessible location in the heart of Lincoln.

Plans are underway to reschedule the dedication and event celebrating this addition to the City’s public art collection that was cancelled due to the pandemic.

NEW WALKING TOURS! Get Out and Enjoy Art

We’re happy to announce that our first walking tour, focused on artwork in the City’s collection, is now available! Enjoy the walking tour through our public art app, Otocast, and directions are below (click on the image to view a larger version). You can also view the map via Google maps and even print it out, if paper’s your thing, right here.

Enjoy the Downtown Tour, a .9 mile / 19 minute walk from Lincoln’s Centennial Mall to the Pinnacle Bank Arena in the Haymarket. All artwork featured in this tour are in the City of Lincoln’s public art collection but stay on the lookout for additional art – from the Sheldon Art Museum’s collection and from private installations – along the way. 

 Additional walking tours will be released in the coming weeks so keep an eye out.