Katherine Gressel

NYC-Based Independent Curator and Writer

Katherine Gressel is a NYC-based independent curator and writer focusing on public and site-specific art. She has published and presented on public art, evaluation and community engagement in the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network blog, annual conference, and webinar series; the critically acclaimed blog createquity.org, and the Public Art Dialogue journal. Katherine has curated for No Longer Empty, the Brooklyn Historical Society, the NYC Department of Transportation’s public art program, and the FIGMENT Summer-Long Interactive Sculpture garden, among others. Her curatorial work has been recommended by Hyperallergic, Time Out New York, News 12 Brooklyn, and the L Magazine. Katherine has exhibited her own artwork across NYC, and was a 2008 Abbey Mural Fellow at the National Academy of Fine Arts and a 2009 CEC ArtsLink travel grantee to paint murals in Russia. Katherine has worked in arts education, artist residency program management, community outreach, and fundraising at such nonprofit organizations as Smack Mellon gallery, Times Square Alliance, Creative Time, and Arts to Grow. Katherine received her BA in art from Yale University and MA in arts administration from Teachers College/Columbia University. View more of her work at www.katherinegressel.com

Caitlin Martin

Media and Communications Manager for the Association for Public Art (aPA, formerly the Fairmount Park Art Association)

She tweets, posts, and Instagrams about Philadelphia's preeminent collection of public art, and oversees marketing, communications, and audience outreach. Martin manages aPA's online presence and digital media initiatives, finding new and unique ways to engage audiences with Philadelphia's outdoor sculpture through technology. Additionally, she is aPA’s staff photographer, documenting the city’s vast collection of public art. A Louisiana native, Caitlin holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Louisiana State University.

Kirstin Wiegmann

Director of Education and Community Engagement at Forecast Public Art

Kirstin Wiegmann is the Director of Education and Community Engagement at Forecast Public Art where her work expands Forecast's reach by testing new models of engagement with community partners and stakeholders. Kirstin leads Forecast's Education initiative focusing on deepening educational opportunities for educators and teaching artists to increase public art learning in classroom settings. Kirstin also facilitates workshops that support learning and co-learning for artists, teaching artists and community members interested in public art and hosts events like the Public Art Scrambler and OpenSpace/OpenBar that invite people to learn, explore and problem solve around issues and ideas related to public art. Kirstin moonlights as a facilitator and coach with Weathervane Creative Consulting, leading retreats, workshops and professional development grounded in participation and creativity for for- and non-profits alike.

Kirstin chairs the Board of In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre and serves as an active member of the American's for the Arts Emerging Leaders Council. She teaches Leadership and Cultural Policy in Saint Mary's University's department of Arts and Cultural Management. Her favorite pastimes are making pickles and camping in the woods.

Margaret Bruning

Director of Civic Art at the Los Angeles County Arts Commission

Margaret Bruning is Director of Civic Art at the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. She is responsible for planning, developing and implementing what is becoming one of the largest public art programs in the country, with close to 50 active projects, ranging in size from $10,000 to $1 million, in various stages of development. The Civic Art Program, which began in 2005, allocates 1% of county capital projects for public art. She has over 18 years of experience in public art, most recently as Associate Director of Scottsdale Public Art in Arizona. She holds an M.A. from Arizona State University in Art History with specialization on the intersection of contemporary public art and infrastructure.

Robin Nigh

Leader in the Field of Contemporary Public Art

Robin Nigh is a leader in the field of contemporary public art. She has developed nationally recognized programs that were also firsts in the field; this includes the Photographer Laureate Program and Lights On Tampa. As the Manager of the Art Programs Division for the City of Tampa, Nigh has also overseen methods and processes for leveraging assets with the city, site stakeholders and the community. This has resulted in the development of the Win-Win Program, a process for public/private partnerships. Prior to her position with the City of Tampa, she served as a project administrator for Florida's Art in State Buildings Program, at Florida State University, and as Director of Sculpture Chicago from 1987 to 1990. Robin is trained as an art historian, having taught art history at Florida State University, Florida International University, and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She received her M.A. in Art Theory and Criticism from the Art Institute of Chicago and has completed postgraduate studies at FSU. She served as president of the Florida Association of Public Art Administrators from 2001 to 2003, and has lectured and consulted about public art across the country. She is currently working on several initiatives in Tampa including Lights On Tampa 2015 (the city's 5th Lights On Tampa), developing cultural plans that integrate programming into key city initiatives including the Tampa Riverwalk and new park facilities.