Public Art is a wonderful way for neighborhoods, residents, and business owners to create a new image, solve a problem, tell a story, and develop or maintain an identity. Public art adds value to our built environment and can transform places with added meaning, interaction, beauty, and memorable encounters for people in those places.

Artwork that is accessible to the public can become a highly visible landmark and help your building or neighborhood stand out from the crowd and give you a distinctive identity. Public art identifies and reflects our community’s sense of place, recognizes our unique landscape, celebrates the arts and artists in our community, and adds value to your neighborhood or business.

There are many ways to incorporate public art in a community. But where in the world do you begin? Like any other community based actions, creating public art requires collaboration, vision, organization, and a lot of elbow grease!

The City of Green Bay Public Arts Commission encourages business owners and neighborhood associations to consider creative ways to engage artists and present works of art in their projects. This handbook is designed for projects that are not sponsored by a formalized public art program, but for grass-roots initiatives, business owners and neighborhood associations looking to bring a vision into reality. It is geared to those who have never administered a public art project before and for individuals or organizations who are looking to create public art together. This handbook is intended to provide information and tools to commission works of art. It features examples of different project types, discusses best practices, and outlines local resources for public art.

View the Art of Green Bay map to see other projects.