Lecture will discuss 'The Many Faces of Public Art'

The Grand Valley State University Art Education Program and Department of Art and Design will present a guest lecture to address the various functions of public art and how it can connect to art education.

Melanie Buffington, associate professor of art education at Virginia Commonwealth University, will present a free public lecture Thursday, March 28, 6:30 p.m. at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Theatre Space, 2 Fulton West, Grand Rapids. “The Many Faces of Public Art” will investigate a range of public art forms, including traditional monuments, contemporary memorials, political works, graffiti, community-based public works, among others.

Buffington was previously a seventh grade art teacher in Maryland. She received doctorate and master’s degrees from Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University. In her teaching, she strives to uses student-centered techniques and create classroom communities that foster democratic learning. She actively participates in state, national, and international professional organizations.

Buffington’s research interests include technology, museum education, multiculturalism, feminism, service-learning, contemporary art, public art, and teacher preparation. She has published work in several academic journals and has received grants to support such projects as podcasting with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and a research book co-written and edited with Sara Wilson McKay.

In conjunction with her evening lecture, Buffington will also present a free art workshop from 9-11 a.m. at the Grand Valley State University Calder Art Center, room 1201, Allendale Campus. To register for the free morning workshop, please RSVP to Hsiao-ping Chen at [email protected].

Both the workshop and lecture are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Hsiao-Ping Chen, assistant professor of art education, at (616) 331-3187.