FORWARD: Issue #1: Public Health
About This Publication
FORWARD, a digital publication and conversation series from Forecast, highlights how artists are partnering with cities, institutions and communities to courageously tackle the vital issues of our time. It focuses on how cities, communities, organizations and others can benefit from partnering with and hiring artists to help meet the essential needs of communities. This issue, focused on public health, was created in collaboration with the University of Florida’s Center for Arts in Medicine and ArtPlace America.
The foundational research and framework behind this edition comes from Creating Healthy Communities through Cross-Sector Collaboration. This groundbreaking 2019 white paper was created by The University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine & ArtPlace America with support from The Pabst Steinmetz Foundation, and written by Jill Sonke, Tasha Golden, Samantha Francois, Jamie Hand, Anita Chandra, Lydia Clemmons, David Fakunle, Maria Rosario Jackson, Susan Magsamen, Victor Rubin, Kelly Sams, and Stacey Springs.
With permission, we've used their framework, translating it for a new audience dealing with 2020 issues. We've expanded a few of their case studies and added more recent ones. We will continue to update this living publication as we learn about new work in the field of public art and public health.
Here at Forecast, we invite policy makers, public health workers, urban planners, architects, artists, city managers, funders—anyone interested in working to advance justice, health, and human dignity—to engage, contribute and learn with us. This publication is free, allowing us to reach people anywhere, without barriers to access. If you are able, we invite you to support this new effort with a financial contribution, sponsorship, or publishing partnership.
Creating Healthy Communities Through Cross-Sector Collaboration was published by The University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine & ArtPlace America with partnership and support from the Pabst Steinmetz Foundation. Authors: Sonke, J., Golden, T., Francois, S., Hand, J., Chandra, A., Clemmons, L., Fakunle, D., Jackson, M.R., Magsamen, S., Rubin, V., Sams, K., Springs, S. Copyright © September 2019. University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine / ArtPlace America, LLC.
Meet Forecast
Our mission
Forecast is a non-profit arts organization, founded in 1978, by and for artists working in public space. Based in Saint Paul, MN, and working locally and nationally, Forecast connects artists with cities, institutions and communities to courageously tackle the vital issues of our time. Our mission is to activate, inspire, and advocate for public art that advances justice, health, and human dignity.
Our vision
Forecast envisions a future where all people feel a sense of belonging, realize their potential and live healthy lives by embracing culture and creativity as drivers of equitable change.
Our values
- We believe in just distribution of wealth, opportunity, and privilege.
- We believe in aligning with others fighting for equity, justice, and human dignity.
- We believe in environmentally and culturally sustainable policies and practices.
- We believe in relationships of mutual investment between communities, sectors, disciplines, and professions.
- We believe in inclusive practices that invite and honor the full expression of people and place.
- We believe that creating an equitable future requires bold imagination.
Our approach
Forecast firmly believes that culture and creativity are important drivers of creating a more just society. As one of the country’s first nonprofit organizations dedicated to advancing the field of public art, we are called to advocate for and advance public art practices that advance justice, health and human dignity. We are invested in public art that plays a crucial role in creating a sense of belonging, and supporting people to realize their potential and live healthy lives. Our work takes shape through five programmatic areas: sharing important stories, developing and providing resources, facilitating learning, advising and consultation, and researching and developing new methods of practice. Through our Forecast Forward series, we curate and create thought-provoking content through our magazine, website, local and national convenings, and public events. Forecast’s Creative Studio expands access to tools, resources, opportunities, and funding for artists to work in public, create partnerships, and advance their public art careers. In our Planning & Engagement work we help decision-makers and stakeholders, in communities across the country, create accessible, just and relevant place-based efforts, including public art. Through our Learning Institute we offer workshops, training, fellowships, and other in-person and online learning opportunities. Our Change Lab works with communities to pilot new ways of working within the field of public art and allied fields to advance justice.
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We are committed to publishing a diversity of voices. Opinions offered by featured writers or other contributors in the written publication series and/or panelists in the conversation series do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication and do not constitute an endorsement of any position or person.
FORWARD: Issue #1
Public Health
© COPYRIGHT 2020 - FORECAST PUBLIC ART ISSN 2768-4113