Public art subject of Capital City Arts Initiative talk

On Sept. 20, the Capital City Arts Initiative will present a talk by arts administrator Dianne Cripe. Her illustrated talk, Public Art: Creating a Sense of Place, is part of CCAI’s ongoing Nevada Neighbors series and will take place at 7 p.m. at the Community Development building, 108 E. Proctor St. There will be an informal reception for Cripe preceding the event at 6:15 p.m. The presentation and reception are free, and the public is cordially invited.

In her talk, Cripe will give an overview of Sacramento’s public art program. With examples of the pieces in the city’s collection, she will discuss how public art changes the ways we perceive our neighborhoods, our cities, and our nation. Art in the public sphere has the ability to create a sense of identity, increase economic activity, and stimulate community dialogue.

Funded by the City and County of Sacramento, the Metropolitan Arts Commission has enhanced city parks, community centers, transit stations and other public spaces for 40 years. From large-scale permanently sited projects to temporary, small interventions, public art reflects the history, the people, and the landscape that’s Sacramento.

Cripe is the Art in Public Places Manager for the City and County of Sacramento’s Art in Public Places Program and oversees both permanent and temporary projects. She joined the Arts Commission in 2015 after managing the City of Las Vegas public art program of permanent and temporary projects. Cripe also directed the Art in Public Places program with a staff of 12 at the State of Hawaii Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

Previously, as the inaugural director of public art for Arizona State University, she developed numerous exhibition and outreach programs and coordinated both permanent and temporary projects. Cripe also established the City of Goodyear (Arizona) public art program, developing policies, public art plans and programming several exhibition spaces throughout municipal buildings.

She has contributed articles to Public Art Review and ASU Research Magazine. Cripe holds an M.A. in Art History and an M.Ed. in English Education, both from Arizona State University.

As part of her Nevada Neighbors activities, Cripe will give her talk to art students and faculty at Douglas High School and at Sierra Nevada College.

The Capital City Arts Initiative is an artist-centered organization committed to the encouragement and support of artists and the arts and culture of Carson City and the surrounding region. The initiative is committed to community planning and building for the area’s diverse adult and youth populations through art projects and exhibitions, live events, arts education programs, artist residencies, and online projects.

The Capital City Arts Initiative is funded in part by the Nevada Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts, City of Carson City, Nevada Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities, U.S. Bank Foundation, and John and Grace Nauman Foundation.

For information, visit CCAI’s website at arts-initiative.org.