By: Bob Barzan
When the announcement was made at the ArtPlace Summit in Philadelphia in early May that Modesto had passed a public art policy thanks to the ArtPlace grant to the Modesto Art Museum there was loud applause. For the last two years, the Museum worked with city officials to craft a policy guiding the placement of public art on city properties.
I represented the Museum at the Summit. I was surprised by the number of people from all over the country who sought me out and wanted to chat about what we are doing in Modesto. It is clear that being an ArtPlace grantee has given the Modesto Art Museum important national exposure. The 15 foundations, 6 federal agencies, and 8 banks that make up ArtPlace are well aware of Modesto Art Museum and our project Building a Better Modesto.
