Miami-Dade Art in Public Places was one of the first public art programs in the United States. Established in 1973, as the result of a county ordinance that allocated 1.5% of construction costs of new county buildings for the purchase or commission of art, the program continues to be a showcase for contemporary artists and their art throughout the county. Since its founding thirty-eight years ago, Miami-Dade Art in Public Places has acquired or commissioned over 700 works of art and is internationally recognized as a leader in its field. Artworks are installed in a variety of locations such as the Port of Miami, Miami International Airport, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami-Dade Transit Metrorail stations, Zoo Miami, Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue stations, Miami-Dade Public Library branches, Miami-Dade Police stations, public housing developments, and community health centers.

Today, the Digital Collection Initiative is designed to move Miami-Dade Art in Public Places into the web 2.0 era. Through its focus on a suite of web-based initiatives and open-source technologies, all facets of the program’s art administration and management activities will be improved and modernized to meet 21st century needs through the use of contemporary technologies. One way that the Digital Collection Initiative is embracing open-source solutions is through its deployment of CollectionSpace to manage and describe the works of art in the collection and the artists who created them, as well as to track the movement of art and schedule conservation work.

In addition, the Miami-Dade Art in Public Places website will be re-conceived and re-designed to include new ways to interact with the works of art; enhanced information about the artists who created the art; information about where the works of art are located for public display - through the creative use of geographic information - and provide new resources for artists such as an artists registry and online applications and calls for submissions for commissions and related juried activities.

The Miami-Dade County, Department of Cultural Affairs, Art in Public Places, Digital Collection Initiative is led by Matthew Andress. For more information about Miami-Dade Art in Public Places click here.