My interest in public art was kindled in 2020 when Confederate monuments became a site of controversy in a national debate. In light of this controversy, I was instantly intrigued by the central role that public art evidently plays in shaping, mediating, and negotiating collective memory and cultural identity.

In spring 2020, as part of my M.A. program, I pursued a six-month internship at Century Walk, a nonprofit public art foundation in Naperville, Illinois. The organization had recently faced public scrutiny over a perceived lack of diversity in a downtown mural and sought out support in navigating shifting expectations around public art. My role focused on managing public relations and developing the Naperville Century Walk Public Art Guide—a multi-platform resource designed to foster deeper community engagement with over 50 public artworks across the suburban city southwest of Chicago.

The printed guide includes a digital companion with audio narration, interactive maps, and QR codes, enabling users of all ages and abilities to move fluidly between analog and digital interfaces. Complete with original photography, illustrations, and copy, the project was grounded in months of research into the personal and local histories each work commemorates.

This experience provided the foundation for my Master’s thesis by exposing a central dilemma in contemporary public art: How can artists and institutions represent a 'public' that cannot reach consensus on what defines them as a collective?