Initiated by Shanghai University and co-founded by the two magazines Public Art (China) and Public Art Review (USA), the International Award for Public Art (IAPA) was launched in Shanghai last month with the aim of propagating knowledge about the practice of public art globally.
The theme of the first award was place-making and 141 projects from around the world were researched, including temporary and permanent projects. Six projects were shortlisted by an international jury with the award going to Venezuela's Tiuna el Fuerte Cultural Park, which the jurors described as "a vibrant work of creative genius."
The jurors for the inaugural award were: Lewis Biggs, chair of the organising committee of the IAPA and former director of the Liverpool Biennale; Jacker Becker, director of Forecast and publisher of Public Art Review; Fulya Erdemci, former director of SKOR/Foundation for Art and Public Domain and artistic director of the 2013 Instanbul Biennale; Yuko Hasegawa, chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary art in Tokyo and curator of the 2013 Sharjah Biennale; Katia Canton, professor of art theory and criticism/curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, University of Sao Paulo; and professor Wang Dawei, dean of the Fine Arts College, Shanghai University and chief editor of Public Art (China).
Image: Tiuna el Fuerte Cultural Park, Caracas, Venezuela
