“The Red Chair Visits Public Art in Orange County”, a program of the Orange County Arts and Cultural Affairs Office, has been selected for the Americans for the Arts 2011 Public Art Network Year in Review Visionary Leadership Award.
The program was one of 47 chosen by three jurors who reviewed 430 programs from across the country. Orange County’s award-winning program received one of three Visionary Leadership awards from the jurors. The program was viewed by attendees at the Americans for the Arts conference in San Diego.
Counties, municipalities and other civic organizations across the nation view and present the Year in Review for inspiration and improvement of their programs to enhance their communities by placing art in public spaces. The Orange County program, selected by curators Gail Goldman, Kendal Henry, and Richard Turn, is a permanent traveling exhibition coordinated by Arts & Cultural Affairs Director Terry Olson. Three dozen photographers contributed to the exhibition. Each photograph, in its own unique style, incorporates a child-sized red chair with a piece of art that is publicly viewable for free on a regular basis in Orange County.
The red chair is our community’s symbol for the arts and refers to www.RedChairProject.com – the Internet portal to all information about arts and cultural events in Central Florida. The works of public art were chosen from the Arts & Cultural Affairs web site www.ocfl.net/PublicArt, where over 700 works of art are pictured, described and connected to a map for easy locating.
The members of the Public Art Review Board and some of the photographers personally raised the money to secure this exhibition for Orange County. It opened for public viewing at the Orange County Administration Center and has been viewed at Orlando City Hall and at Stardust Video and Cafe. On July 24, the exhibition will open at the Albin Polasek Museum in Winter Park where it will be on display until September 25.
“As this exhibition is seen by more and more people, we hope that our citizens will start to see some of the many art works around them,” said Olson. “Taking time to slow down and really look at our environment is healthy and fulfilling – and who doesn’t want to be healthy and fulfilled?” This project is so successful it has become an annual tradition. The second edition, again with submissions from several dozen photographers, is entitled the “Red Chair Visits Dance in Central Florida.”
“The Red Chair Visits Dance in Orange County” is currently on display in the lobby of the Orange County Administration Center, 201 S Rosalind Ave, Orlando, FL through the end of August.
