Postgraduate Researchers

PhD by Publication Candidate - School of Media, Centre for Socially Engaged Practice-Based Research

Project title: Public Art Coordination: Shaping the Irish Arts Landscape 

Project Abstract: 

Appointing public art coordinators responsible and accountable for programming and commissioning in the public sphere is a growing trend internationally. My aim in this PhD thesis is to undertake an inquiry into the practice of how public art coordination facilitates artists in producing ambitious public art works. Appropriating Mary Parker Follett’s (1866–1933) concept of leadership in addition to curatorial, rights, and management theory, I argue for an increased accommodation of public art coordination as a public leadership service arising from the construction sector. Adopting Ricoeurian hermeneutics alongside vignettes, my thesis constitutes a deep dive into the habitat and culture of Ireland’s Per Cent for Art scheme, which provides a case study to appreciate where public art coordination is located, and to show the spectrum of methods used in this practice. I draw on my work as an experienced public art coordinator together with my selected publications, including the tender for the Irish Arts Council’s (2008) ‘Specification, Development of Content for Dynamic Public Art Website’ for Ireland's national website publicart.ie; the commissioned film ‘arc’ (2006) for Fingal and Dublin City Council’s international public art project, and the book: ‘…the lives we live’ (2020) for Dublin’s inner-city Grangegorman Public Art. This thesis raises questions for further research regarding public art commissioning and arts pedagogy. 

Supervisors: Dr. Alan Grossman, Dr. Anthony Haughey 

Funder: Fiosraigh Scholarship.