2017 An Analysis of CANVAS Outdoor Museum

An Analysis of CANVAS Outdoor Museum Art in the Parks West Palm Beach Waterfront

Decision Support Partners, Inc. | Palm Beach Gardens, FL | suralephillips.com A collaboration with The Community Land Use + Economics Group, LLC Philadelphia, PA | Arlington, VA | cluegroup.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS A SSI G NME NT

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LO CA T IO N O F T HE ART I N T HE PA RK S

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A SSUMPT I O NS

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K E Y FINDI NG S

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VI SI T AT I O N A ND SPE NDI NG

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A W A RE NE SS/SO CIAL I MPA CT /FO RM A TIVE I N F O RMAT I O N

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ME T HO DO LO G Y

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E CO NO MI C A CTI VI TY

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VI SI T O R A TT RI BUT ES

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SO CI A L I MPA CT S: QUA NT IT A TI VE

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SO CI A L I MPA CT S: QUA LI T AT I VE

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A BO UT T HE CO NSULT A NT S

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A PPE NDI X

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ASSIGNMENT CANVAS Outdoor Museum, the City of West Palm Beach, and the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority joined forces to gather information about the social and economic impacts of the art installations in downtown park areas along Flagler Drive. For the purposes of this report, the area is referred to as the “art parks.”

While the art installations in the parks are part of a larger City-wide project led by CANVAS, data collection for this project included only three small adjacent parks. The project was limited to gathering visitor counts, conducting intercept surveys, and interviewing some art park visitors from November 2016 through February 2017. The original project was scheduled to run through June 2017, but research was discontinued on March 1, 2017 due to uncertain project funding. Because data collected through February was a large enough sample to use, the overall scope and budget was reduced. Work resumed in June, 2017 utilizing the data collected through February.

The goals expressed by the project coordinator at CANVAS Outdoor Museum were to:     

Encourage more use of the parks and draw passersby into the green space Highlight local artists while beautifying public space and enriching the community Learn what visitors liked most about the installations and what would encourage them to come back and spend more time using these parks Learn how people found out about the project and their familiarity with CANVAS Understand spending of the visitor parties while in Downtown West Palm Beach during the viewing

An intercept schedule was agreed upon and included days and times during which people would be in the art parks because they would be attending CANVAS programming, high traffic times on Saturdays when the GreenMarket takes place, and low traffic times during weekday afternoons and early evenings. A total of 154 surveys were collected, 82% during high traffic times (event days), and 18% during low traffic times (non-event days). Twenty interviews were conducted with people in the parks.

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LOCATION OF THE ART IN THE PARKS The site for the project is a series of parcels and parks along Flagler Drive between 1st and 5th Streets across from the Palm Harbor Marina. Prior to the installations, this area received light pedestrian use.

When our team stopped by several times prior to the installations, the parks were empty with the exception of what appeared to be vagrants congregating in the shade near the Jose Marti sculpture.

During most stops the areas were vacant with a few people walking past the parks on the sidewalk.

After the installations, it is estimated that nearly 25% of passersby entered the park intentionally to view the art on their way someplace else.

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We took some photos of the site before the installations in November and in the early stages in January.

In comparison to February visits the addition of the art added greatly to the beauty and use of the space. Before the installations, people we observed during the photo sessions avoided going through the park and grassy areas which seemed to be the more direct route for them, instead walking around the park on the sidewalk along Flagler.

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During November, our project team encountered some difficulties with surveying people because the site was not clean and some of the art work was not finished. We resumed our research in January to allow time for the murals to be completed and site clean-up.

“It’s ridiculous. Terrible. It’s not even cutting edge. The City’s priorities are completely out of sync here. Look at this mess. Why aren’t they cleaning this up?

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By January the art park seemed to pick up good momentum. People were using the park as a place to play with their children, take selfies, and just linger while looking at art installations. During a typical good-weather GreenMarket day we estimate that more than 500 people intentionally visited the art in the park.

“I think these projects are really good. It’s inspiring and makes people happy. I really like how it fits in with the urban feel and makes it feel nice. They should have more art around the city because it’s awesome.”

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“We stumbled on it by accident because we were walking this way. It would be nice if there was some way for the people at the GreenMarket and Clematis by Night to know this is here. Maybe light it up at night so people could walk by. That would make it a destination point.�

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Overall, as this report will show, visitors to the parks support this type of project, but the project and our research got off to a rocky start. The first event (Be Art Brunch) at which our survey team was on site had been cancelled without public notification or notification to our team, leaving people who showed up for the event confused and even annoyed. Attendance at the “Connections” event for youth with the Armory Art Center was sparsely attended. Subsequently, there was no official programming that took place in direct support of the installations.

As mentioned, the installations were incomplete during the first few months our team was working, but over the course of the project some pieces appeared to be finished, new installations were added, and some pieces were broken or were unattended to (no chalk at the interactive Connections mural, for example). There were several times during the early research schedule where works of art were cordoned off by tape and surrounded by trash and materials that had been left behind. One time a fight broke out in front of the murals where people tended to congregate and frightened some visitors off. Staff assigned to coordinate with the consultants left the project, as well, without notification.

The rocky start aside, our team was able to collect data from 174 people that yields quantitative and qualitative information to measure some of the intended impacts and provide insights, in a formative way, for investments in future CANVAS art projects in the City. We relied on our own experience in measuring neighborhood economies and cultural audiences, as well as our familiarity with the area and contemporary art projects in public space around the U.S., including other projects in West Palm Beach.

This work was conducted as a collaboration between Surale Phillips of Decision Support Partners, Inc. and Josh Bloom of the Community Land Use Economics Group.

ASSUMPTIONS  The site is accessible at all hours, but we assume it attracted art visitors primarily from 8:00 am to 2:00 on Saturdays, and from 11:00am-6:00pm during weekdays. 

We estimated visitor attendance and visitor spending on non-event days and during event days, and combined. We assume that visitation levels will drop off as more people have seen the art and fewer new people come specifically to see it unless ancillary program is established.

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KEY FINDINGS VISITATION AND SPENDING “Art is very important for humans to interact and relate to each other.”

12-week attendance   

“It’s colorful and fun and makes you feel happy.”

Daily attendance  

“Exposure to arts is important for the community, makes you stop and think, and it’s interactive.”

Total attendance at the art parks over a 12-week period was about 11,500. Of those, about 2,800 came specifically to see the art (24% of all visitors).

Total attendance at the art parks on Green Market days (12 market days) was 6,200. Of those, 17% came into the park specifically to see the art.

Total attendance at the art parks on non-event days (72 days) was 5,300. Of those, 32% came specifically to see the art.

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On Green Market days, approximately 518 people visited the park daily. Of those, 17% (88 people per day) visited specifically for the art.

On non-event days, approximately 74 people visited the park daily. Of those, 32% (24 people per day) visited specifically for the art.

The “Art Brunch”, which was canceled at the last minute, still drew about 362 people to the park that day, and 94% (340 people) came specifically to see the art.

Spending  

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Visitors spent an average of $30.71 on eating, $24.36 on shopping, and $1.72 on parking. No surveyed visitors spent money on lodging.

On Green Market days, total estimated spending by visitors was $30,223 per event day, and $362,672 over 12 GreenMarket days. Spending by art specific visitors was $5,138 per event day and $61,654 over 12 GreenMarket days.

On non-event days, total estimated spending by visitors was $3,150 per day, and $226,815 over a 12-week period (72 non-event days). Spending by visitors who were there specifically for the art was $1,008 per day and $72,581 over a 12-week period.

Visitors who came on non-event days (when there was no Green Market or program) spent less on shopping. Visitors to the art parks on non-event days spent $9.64 per party, compared to an average of $21.68 for all visitors.

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“I was glad to see that the art integrated itself as part of the landscape.”



Close to 60% of visitors were West Palm Beach residents, mainly from ZIP code 33401, but the art in the parks also attracted visitors from all corners of Palm Beach County and 10% from out of state.



The art in the parks seemed to attract a wide variety of people from a demographic standpoint.

Visitors were from all income groups, all age groups, and all ethnicities.

“It caught my eye as well as my children’s.

I would have never come over here otherwise.”

“It is interesting, through provoking, colorful. And it is food for the mind and soul.

“It’s a positive message and makes the city beautiful while also introducing children to art.”

“Nice because politics shows us so much hate lately.”

“It allows for everybody to see different tastes in artwork and it’s a new experience. And it covers up a blah area.”

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AWARENESS/ SOCIAL IMPACT/FORMATIVE I NFORMATION 

The majority (71%) did not come to the park specifically to see the art. It was mostly enjoyed by those who happened to pass the area by car or on foot on their way someplace else. But, it was clear through observation that the art drew passersby into the park area, particularly those on their way to and from the WBP GreenMarket. Non-event days drew more intentional visitors, 32%.

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Visitors mostly had not about CANVAS Outdoor Museum (61%), and for those who were familiar, 23%said they were very familiar with CANVAS. With such positive response to the art parks, this provides a good marketing opportunity for CANVAS if additional signage or information about the organization and art works are included in the physical space and supported by up to date digital media.

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Intentional marketing was not a major force in getting people to visit the parks, particularly during typical hours when there was no event happening. Most – close to 60% – just noticed the art when passing. Following that, social media and non-digital word of mouth drew about 18% of the visitors. Ten percent (10%) saw something about it on TV. Five percent or fewer cited CANVAS or the City as the way they learned about the CANVAS Outdoor Museum.

“Had little context – need explanation of the origin or the artists.”



Close to 60% reported that the art in the parks make the neighborhood better and that they planned to come back again. Given that 40% of the visitors had visited these parks for the first time that bodes well for increased usage. And, more than half said that they would tell somebody about it, likely encouraging others to visit the parks.

“I was surrounded by homeless people.”

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Forty percent (40%) of visitors said they discovered new artists and interacted with the publicly displayed art.

“It looked a little sloppy.”

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More than half of the visitors expected to purchase food or shop while on their outing, and more than 30% indicated they planned to get a drink. It appears that some visitors were on their way to see a show downtown (18%) perhaps at an event or at DramaWorks nearby.

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Seventy five percent (75%) of the visitors were able to name specific works of art they liked the most, and most (30%) said they liked “all of it,” followed by the murals, wrdsmth, and Loveism mainly because of the positive messaging and colorful treatments.

“I wanted to read and view the art in shade and there were no benches.”

“There should be some kind of background for the piece – where the artist came from.

I guess it has the @ symbol so you can find them if you want to.”

“I didn’t understand it, and didn’t know it was art.”

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

Overall, visitors liked their favorites because of their aesthetics and the positive messaging as well as good memories they evoked.



Very few visitors were able cite a work they liked least or disliked. Only 7 mentioned a specific work they didn’t like as much as some of the others and that appeared to be a matter of personal taste. Mostly, less than glowing comments had to do more with the lack of places to site, lack of information, and the messy state of the area with trash and homeless population.



When asked what would entice them to come and spend time in the parks more often, most said “more art,” “activities and events related to the art,” changing art and variety,” “art that is interactive,” “music,” and cleaning up the area.

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METHODOLOGY We collected data over a four-month period beginning in November 2016 and ending February 27, 20171. We collected data on both weekdays and weekends during the day and early evenings. We used three data collection tools:  Counting. For attendance data, we counted people entering the parks who took a sustained interest in the art work. We did not count people who just walked through and barely glanced over at the art.2  Intercept surveys. We surveyed people within the parks and those passing by on foot who observed the work for a sustained period. We collected 154 paper intercept surveys over a series of four-hour shifts. The data was entered into SPSS. The intercept tool was developed with input from CANVAS staff.  Interviews. We conducted 20 short interviews with people at the site. The anonymous interviews were recorded with permission and later transcribed to add key quotes to the report.

1

Dates included 11/20/16, 1/14/17, 1/19/17, 1/21/19, 1/25/17, 2/8/17, 2/11/17, 2/25/17, and 2/17/17. No data as collected during December due to the installations being incomplete and poor weather.

2 The parks on which the installations are placed is accessible 24/7. Our counting samples were taken hourly for 15-minute intervals, during the dates of data collection. While our team took some counts prior to the start of the project, they counts were extremely low and not different enough from the typical project day counts to be conclusive in any way.

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ECONOMIC ACTIVITY “I think this project shows great diversity.

To see different things around the area exposes a lot of art to different people through style.”

Avgerage Daily Attendance (assumes 6 hrs/day) 12-Week Totals Event days 518 6,211 Non-event days 74 5,292 Total 11,503

“It’s tasteful and a lot of people can enjoy instead of something that’s intended to be controversial.”

“It pops out of the scenery and livens things up. I would like benches or art you can sit on. I think that would give people another reason to come down here.”

“I wish it was more in the inner city where it’s busier. But it invokes positivity and it brightens your walk and makes you smile.

I love them all. I think they are very nice and all unique and different from each other. That’s very cool.”

Est. Specific Art Daily Visitors 94% 340 17% 88 32% 24

Estimated % Specific Art Daily Visitors Visitors Art Brunch day GreenMarket days Non-event days

362 518 74

Total Spending (12 weeks) Avgerage Spending per Party Eating Shopping Parking Lodging Other Avg total spending

$ $ $ $ $ $

30.71 24.36 1.72 1.60 58.39

Total Visitors (12 weeks) 11,503 11,503 11,503 11,503 11,503 11,503

Average Total Spending Intentionality (weighted) $353,263 $280,218 $19,786 $0 $18,405 $671,672

24% 24% 24% 24% 24% 24%

Total Spending

by Art Specific Visitors (12 weeks) $84,783 $67,252 $4,749 $0 $4,417 $161,201

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GreenMarket Days 12-Weeks

Daily Avgerage Spending per Party Eating Shopping Parking Lodging Other Avg total spending

$ $ $ $ $ $

% Intentional (GreenMarket Days)

Daily Visitor Count, Event Days 518 518 518 518 518 518

17% 17% 17% 17% 17% 17%

30.71 24.36 1.72 1.60 58.39

Total Daily Spending $15,895 $12,609 $890 $0 $828 $30,223

Daily Spending

by Art Specific Visitors (GreenMarket Days) $2,702 $2,143 $151 $0 $141 $5,138

Total Visitor Count, All Event Days 6,211 6,211 6,211 6,211 6,211 6,211

Total Spending, All Event Days $190,746 $151,305 $10,683 $0 $9,938 $362,672

Total Spending

by Art Specific Visitors (GreenMarket days) $32,427 $25,722 $1,816 $0 $1,689 $61,654

Non-Event Days Daily Average Spending per Party Eating Shopping Parking Lodging Other Avg total spending

$ $ $ $ $ $

% Intentional (Non-Event Days)

31.07 9.64 2.14 42.86

32% 32% 32% 32% 32% 32%

12-Weeks

Daily Visitor Count, NonEvent Days 74 74 74 74 74 74

Total Daily Spending $2,284 $709 $157 $0 $0 $3,150

Daily Spending

by Art Specvific Visitors (NonEvent Days) $731 $227 $50 $0 $0 $1,008

Total Spending Total Visitor Total

by Art Specific Count, All Non- Spending, All Visitors (NonEvent Days Non-Event Days Event Days) 5,292 $164,422 $52,615 5,292 $51,015 $16,325 5,292 $11,325 $3,624 5,292 $0 $0 5,292 $0 $0 5,292 $226,815 $72,581

NO T E S The installation site is near to downtown retail but not exactly adjacent to the busier areas of Downtown. Part of the site appears more like a vacant lot than a park. The area in front of the Chamber of Commerce does not appear as public space, while the area with the Marti statue and playground appears as a public park. While this area is not a very popular destination, it is on a corridor that is well traveled by cars, bikes, and pedestrians entering and leaving Downtown. For people traveling by the site it was impossible not to see the large sculptures, containers, and wall murals. There are a few benches on the sidewalks adjacent to the park, but no seating within the mural area except for the walls around the Marti sculpture. Because this area is shaded with trees it is a popular area for vagrants and was often occupied for long hours by the same people day after day.

There was no signage on or near the parks or on the murals that was obvious to the viewer. Both lack of seating and signage appeared to discourage some passersby from stopping to explore the murals as well as loitering.

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VISITOR ATTRIBUTES DRAW AREA Where visitors came from in PBC other than West Palm Beach (37%)                

Wellington Lake Worth North Palm Beach Palm Beach Gardens Boynton Beach Jupiter Palm Beach Riviera Beach Greenacres Haverhill Belle Glade Delray Beach Lantana Loxahatchee Groves Aberdeen Boca Raton

The majority of visitors live in West Palm Beach 33401, but visitors came from 30 different ZIP codes throughout Palm Beach County, from as far south as Boca Raton, as far west as Belle Glade, and as far north as Jupiter. Roughly 10% of visitors from other areas of Florida or from out of state. (See chart on left.)

INCOME The installations attracted people of all income levels, with the majority reporting income between $35,000 and $49,999.

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AGE Overall, visitors were in diverse age groups, but the majority was between ages 18 and 34.

RACE AND ETHNICITY The installations attracted visitors in all racial groups, but the majority (74%) were people who selfidentified as White, followed by people who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.

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SOCIAL IMPACTS: QUANTITATIVE WHY VI SITORS WERE IN THE PARKS

More than half of visitors to the art parks were expecting to shop in conjunction with their visit.

Intentional visitors were more likely to eat, drink, or see a show, while passersby were more likely shop.

Close to two-thirds (61%) of visitors did know about CANVAS Outdoor Museum.

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Of those familiar with CANVAS Outdoor Museum, 23% said they were very familiar, 50% were somewhat familiar, and 27% didn’t know much about it.

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WHAT PEOPLE LIKED MOST ABOUT ART IN THE PARKS Close to 60% reported that the art in the parks make the neighborhood better and that they planned to come back again. Forty percent of the visitors were in the parks for the first tie. More than half said they would tell somebody about it.

Forty percent (40%) of visitors said they discovered new artists and interacted with the art.

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WHAT DID THEY LIKE MOST AND WHY Seventy five percent (75%) of the visitors were able to name specific works of art they liked the most, and most (30%) said they liked “all of it,� followed by the murals, wrdsmth, and Loveism mainly because of the positive messaging and colorful treatments.

Overall, visitors liked their favorites because of their aesthetics and the positive messaging as well as good memories they evoked.

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Very few visitors were able cite a work they liked least or disliked. Only 7 mentioned a specific work they didn’t like as much as some of the others and that appeared to be a matter of personal taste.

Mostly, less than glowing comments had to do more with the lack of places to site, lack of information, and the messy state of the area with trash and homeless population.

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When asked what would entice them to come and spend time in the parks more often, most said “more art,” “activities and events related to the art,” changing art and variety,” “art that is interactive”, and “music.”

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HOW PEOPLE LEARNED ABOUT THE CANVAS OUTDOOR MUSEUM Visitors learned about art in the parks through multiple communication channels and were asked to report all the ways they had heard about it. Close to 60% of visitors reported that they “just passed by.”

Following that, social media and non-digital word of mouth drew about 18% of the visitors. Ten percent (10%) saw something about it on TV. Five percent or fewer cited CANVAS or the City as the way they learned about the CANVAS Outdoor Museum.

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SOCIAL IMPACTS: QUALITATIVE We included quotes here from the brief interviews in which visitors were asked three questions:   

What brought you here today?

Have you heard of CANVAS Outdoor Museum?

What do you think about these types of projects in the parks here? o (What do you like/don’t like, and why?)

SUMMARY OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND OTHER OBSERVATIONS 

Overall, comments from the narrative in the survey and the interviews was positive, particularly from those people passing by on their way to the GreenMarket who were surprised to see the art in the parks. People enjoyed wandering around, but found it disappointing that there was no place for them to sit. Some people took selfies and reported that the site makes a great backdrop for that.



Most people really valued the placement of the pieces and the variety in these underused areas on the Waterfront. While there were some complaints about poor maintenance of the site, the overwhelming feeling about the installation was very positive.



People wanted to know who the artists were, where they came from, and specifics about each work.

We could see people looking for signage and some approached our survey team to ask what we knew about the artists and why there weren’t any signs.



Other than the few people who were surveyed after a run event early in the process, few had little ability to connect the art in the parks to an overall City-wide arts initiatives, but a few did mention art in other areas of the City that are part of the CANVAS program.

Respondents and the survey team provided some formative information that may be useful in future projects. These comments and suggestions from observation are summarized below: 

Activating the space with more frequent programming connected to the installations will be important to keep visitation up as the time goes by. Keeping the works maintained (no broken pieces and chalk at the connections board) as well as keeping the park clean are important to encouraging people to spend time there.

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

Signage and benches would encourage people to stop and linger longer. And if there are people lingering it will likely attract others to enter the site. However, this also brings with it the challenge of site maintenance, as there was evidence of small fires and of people sleeping and leaving trash behind the murals



Providing obvious information about CANVAS, the artists and an up-to-date website and promoting the app would better encourage people to keep informed. The CANVAS website is not useful for learning about this project or other art installations it has championed as the information is outdated. The app is very user friendly and comprehensive, but seems static with regard to postings and activity. Activating visitors through social media and the app appears to hold potential for generating interest and support.

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ABOUT THE CONSULTANTS The Community Land Use and Economics Group (CLUE Group) is a small, specialized consulting firm, founded in 2004, that helps community leaders create vibrant commercial centers and sustainable economic development. We work with local and state governments and nonprofit revitalization organizations to develop practical and innovative economic development strategies, cultivate independent businesses, identify regulatory and financial barriers, and strengthen development management programs.

CLUE Group provides a broad range of market analysis and business development planning services, including:     

Retail sales gap analysis Business mix strategies Economic benchmarking District marketing and promotion strategies and measurement Economic and fiscal impact analysis

CLUE Group’s personnel have over 40 years of experience in commercial district revitalization. Our two principals served as senior staff for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street Center, one as the Center’s longest-serving director and one as a senior program officer. Both also served as managers of local downtown revitalization programs before joining the staff of the National Main Street Center, bringing first-hand experience with the daily challenges and long-term opportunities of downtown economic development. One also served as a board member, then as director, of the League of Historic American Theatres.

CLUE Group is regarded as one of the nation’s leading experts in commercial district revitalization, downtown economic development, and small business development. Our clients include local and state governments throughout the United States; local, state and national nonprofit organizations; private developers; and government entities in Canada and the United Kingdom. CLUE Group is a limited liability company based in Virginia.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION JO SHUA BLO O M Josh is a leader in the revitalization of historic commercial districts and a principal at the Community Land Use and Economics Group. He uses local data to craft market-based strategies that help cities and communities build economically differentiated, dynamic places. He lectures and publishes on two of his favorite topics – creating sustainable clusters of independent and chain businesses, and the development of crowdsourced and crowdfunded community-owned businesses.

Josh’s work has ranged from small towns like Childress in the Texas Panhandle to Leimert Park, a neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles. Before joining the CLUE Group, Josh led the National Trust Main Street Center’s urban expansion efforts, establishing the citywide Boston Main Streets program in 19 neighborhoods, as well as individual neighborhood Main Street programs in Cleveland, St. Louis, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami, Philadelphia, and others.

Josh received his B.A. from Columbia University and a master's in historic preservation from the University of Pennsylvania. A former molecular biologist, he has more than 20 years of experience in revitalizing downtowns, first as executive director of Main Street South Orange, in South Orange, NJ, in the early 1990s, and then as a program officer at the National Main Street Center from 1995 to 2005. He joined CLUE Group in 2005. In 2007 he graduated from the preservation carpentry program at the North Bennet Street School, a historic trades school in Boston. Josh serves as an officer on the board of directors, as well as Manager of Business and Real Estate Development, for Weavers Way Cooperative, a $20 million enterprise in Philadelphia with two grocery stores, a pet supplies store, and two health-andbeauty-aid stores.

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SURA LE PHI LLI PS For 23 years, Surale Phillips has provided research and consulting services to the nonprofit sector with a focus on arts and culture. Her research supports projects in building nonprofit organizational capacity, audience development, audience engagement, marketing, community cultural planning, and program evaluation. Her services have been the foundation for research projects supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Wallace Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, Knight Foundation, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and several community foundations. Clients have included foundations, arts service organizations, united arts funds, state, regional and local arts councils, performing arts presenters, festivals, museums, theater, opera, and dance companies, symphony orchestras, and institutions of higher education.

Surale’s presenting engagements have included American's for the Arts National Convention, the National Arts Marketing Project Conference, Pennsylvania Governor’s Arts Awards, Southeastern Conference on Foundations, Midwest Council on Philanthropy, Kentucky Arts Presenters, San Diego Commission on Cultural Affairs, and the American Folklore Society. Currently, she serves on the Montana State Arts Council Cultural and Aesthetic Grants Committee, as a Major Institutional Grants Adjudicator for the Tennessee Arts Commission, a Research Technical Advisor for Dance USA’s Engaging Dance Audiences program, and a Faculty Member for Training and Workshops with Americans for the Arts.

From 2005 to 2007 she served as Executive Director for Classics for Kids Foundation in Bozeman, MT. Prior to founding Decision Support Partners, Inc. in 2002, Surale was Vice President of Research and Administration for a national arts consulting firm for 13 years.

APPENDIX INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTIONS

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APPENDIX INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTIONS It’s ridiculous. Terrible. It’s not even cutting edge. The city’s priorities are completely out of sync. Look at this mess. Why aren’t they cleaning this up? Note: the cleaner had just been there. It was clothes & backpack left from or for the street people that he was speaking about.

I don’t believe in that. Art. What brought you here today? The greenmarket and the Trump protest.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? No What do you think about these types of projects in the neighborhoods? I think they’re fabulous. (why) because it brings art and beauty and joy to the community. (like/dislike?) I love it all. (value?) Oh yeah sure, I think it does. It beautifys the environment and the town. I love it. Keep it up.”

What brought you here today? The women’s march.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? I’ve been to the one in Wynnewood, would that be considered the same? So, no I have not heard of this one.

What do you think about these types of projects in the neighborhoods? Oh I think they’re wonderful. They need to be encouraged. (why?)

Because they’re beautiful, they’re uplifting. I think they enrich our lives. (like/dislike?) I like the color. I think they add to the surroundings, the buildings, the little park here. I think they add a lot. (comments/suggestions?) There should be more of these, definitely.

What brought you here today? The farmer’s market.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? No What do you think about these types of projects in the neighborhoods? They’re really pretty. They’re good to look at. (why?) Very colorful. (like/dislike?) I like they’re all different in their own unique way. I like the color and how they’re all just spread out and you can see different parts as you drive through downtown. (value?) I think more of an upscale, because as you get more in, down the other way it’s too run down What brought you here today? The greenmarket.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? No. What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

I think they show a great cultural diversity. To see different things around the area, exposes a lot of art to different people through style.

i

ii What brought you here today? I was scouting a place for my son’s photo shoot. (Mom taking baby pictures against background of art) Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? I have not.

What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

I think it’s great. I don’t know much about this particular project but it’s a great way for artists to get their art out to the public. And it’s also nice for the public to have interesting art works in the park. I love nature itself but if it’s not a very nature park, like this one, there’s just trees, it’s nice. Especially when it’s tasteful and a lot of people can enjoy, instead of something that’s intended to be controversial, as long as it’s something everybody can enjoy I think it adds value.

What brought you here today? The market.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? No. What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

They look nice. It’s very original. (Suggestions?) Maybe add more of these pictures.

What brought you here today? The market.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? No I have not.

What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

I think that it’s really good. It’s inspiring and makes people happy. I really like how it fits in with the urban feel and makes it feel nice. (suggestions?) They should have more art around the city because it’s awesome.

What brought you here today? The greenmarket.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? I have not, no.

What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

I like it. I think it makes it more lively. I love it. I think it’s beautiful and it’s not common to see around. And that’s what I like about West Palm, its diversity and stuff. I think the art can bring a lot of people. And the art is different and that can translate to a lot of different viewers.

What brought you here today? We’re going to the greenmarket.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? Just this second. No. Never before today.

What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

I think it livens up the neighborhood. Artists are very creative. It allows a new dimension to the streets. (what makes you say that?) It is inviting.

It allows for everybody to see different tastes in artwork and it’s a new experience. And it’s covering up this blah area, actually. It’s blah, there’s just a gate here and probably people don’t come down this street much. So I think it also livens it up, like you said. (like/dislike?) I think we stumbled on it just by accident because we were walking this way. It would be nice if there was some sort of ability for the people at the

iii greenmarket and Clematis by Night to know that this is here. And maybe light it up at night so that people could walk by. (value?) I think that it makes it a destination point. (suggestions?) I think it needs to be promoted more. And just keep expanding. Yeah. More art all over.

There should be some kind of background for the piece, where the artist came from. I guess it has the @ symbol so you can find them if you want to.

What brought you here today? The greenmarket.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? No. What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

Think it’s a good idea. I like it.(why?) I just think it pops out of the scenery. Livens things up. Yeah. Instead of just being dull. This could all get painted some fun funky stuff (pointing to low wall around Jose Marti)and that would make it seem so much more. (like/dislike?) I’d like benches.

Art to sit on!(value?) I think it would give people another reason to come down here.

What brought you here today? The farmer’s market.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? No. What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

What specifically? (art installations) Oh, I love it. (what makes you say that?) Think it’s great. I like the idea of public art. Treating public space not just for practical concerns but for art. (value?) I guess it would bring people out. Probably not easily measurable things but would improve the atmosphere. (suggestions?) No. I think it’s neat.

What brought you here today? The greenmarket.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? No. What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

I think it’s really cool. I think it brings a lot of color and brightness and beauty to the city. (like/dislike?) I love it. We come here lots of times but this is the first time I’ve actually seen them so I think it’s cool. I wish it was more throughout the city. Maybe more in the inner city where it’s more busier, I guess. (value?) I think they invoke thought and they invoke positivity. It brightens your walk and it makes you smile. (suggestions?) I love them all. I think they’re very nice and they’re all unique and very different from each other. So I think that’s very cool.

What brought you here today? The market.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? No. What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

I like it. (why?) It just dresses it up and maybe someday the bridge will be open too.(suggestions?) Keep doing it.

iv What brought you here today? In town for a wedding and just came down to check it out.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? No. What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

I think they’re beautiful. I think they add a lot of character to the neighborhood. (value?) I don’t know if there’s a monetary value to it but I think cultural value. (suggestions?) I think they should continue to do it.

What brought you here today? Local greenmarket, the culture of downtown West Palm Beach.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? Haven’t heard of it but walked by it and experienced it many times.

What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

I think they’re essential to enlighten the culture. I think that without these types of things then we’re just another city, there’s nothing eclectic to it. Nothing interesting. These things are good. And I think that what downtown has done with the paintings and the art. All throughout downtown has been amazing. So they take what is just ordinary and make it great. So there is a creative side to that too. I think it speaks for downtown environment. (like/dislike?) I can’t think of what I don’t like about art. And I think there are worse places we are spending tax dollars on. (value?) I think they bring community and that’s the goal of a downtown environment. Without community, without more people attracted to one place then everybody stays separate. (suggestions?) I think it makes a city different and unique and I think that’s important especially for West Palm as it continues to grow. I had not heard of it. I had not seen any marketing or anything done on it. So I think that could be enhanced a little bit. An opportunity for the organizers. I also believe it is inspiring for the young children to not only want to make where they live more beautiful and more enhanced but also maybe as a hobby for them or as a future career for them to go into art or sculpturing or whatever it is that they may have a talent for. I’ve got one last thing to say, with today’s generation kids need to get off of the computers and back to things like this. Yes also that being said, that also promotes more socialization which our computers and texting and whatnot has killed in our society.

What brought you here today? The greenmarket Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? No. What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

I like them, think it’s great. It brings some color into the thing and just exposes art. I think it’s good for people to see, visual stuff like that. (like/dislike?) I really like that there’s a young theme to it. It’s not like some old art. You have this paper airplane, I think this looks like (large rust finished metal sculpture). And more modern stuff like the “never stop dreaming”, and the colors. I think it’s great. I think that this area needs more color, maybe the background, because it’s a little too dark. Maybe some plants or something. (along the fence). More color. It’s a little too dark. (value?) I’m an artist myself. And we’ve been here for awhile. He was born here and I’ve been here since 1989 so we’ve seen how much just downtown itself has grown. This is just a great idea to bring people together and see other people’s art. (suggestions?) I’d like to keep it around. I like to see big projects like this. Cool to have artists doing this.

v What brought you here today? Farmer’s market and the flea market.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? No. What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

They’re very appealing and I think they contribute to the beauty of downtown West Palm. I’m a connoisseur of art. What I see is in line with tasteful and very lively (art…wind noise too much). (like/dislike?) Nothing I dislike. What I do like is the diversity of styles that are showcased so that there are different tastes for different people. They can admire and take a look at the ones that they like and even the ones that they don’t like. (value?) Visually I think it enhances the overall experience of downtown West Palm Beach.

What brought you here today? The market.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? No. What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

I like it. Yeah. It’s cool. I love it. I noticed when we drove in, I thought it was very nice. I thought it looked modern and young and interesting. It makes the neighborhood feel as though people are involved. Like it’s a vibrant place instead of static, it’s dynamic. The artists need to be supported. This is a good outlet for them. (like/dislike?) It’s nice. It gives a kind of personal touch to the neighborhood.(value?) The value is in the supporting of artists. Promoting community. The vibe that it creates. This is a nice neighborhood. We’re not familiar. We are new here. It seems like it’s a nice neighborhood. A kind of wealthy, affluent area and some areas like that can get a little too polished. This makes it seem a little less polished. A little more lively.

What brought you here today? The greenmarket.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? No. What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

I think they’re exciting, good for the neighborhood and it gives people something to do visually. (value?) Value to the community? Youth, aliveness, action. The community cares. And participating in community events.

I think in the long run it would be good to have some permanent installations. And with the new ones nestling in, it will be a beautiful marriage.

What brought you here today? The greenmarket.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? I read in the Shiny Sheet but this is the first time I saw it.

What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

Terrific. I think it adds such interesting art programs to the area that was vacant and also it compliments with the greenmarket. (like/dislike?) I think I like the sculptural settings for these pieces. What I don’t like is that I think the art needs to be a little bit vetted before it is installed. So

vi maybe better quality. Also have little bit different variety. Doesn’t necessarily have to be really terribly expensive. Emerging artists would probably be the best thing for this site. Keep it up. It’s wonderful.

What brought you here today? The flea market.

Have you heard of Canvas Outdoor Museum? No. What do you think of these types of projects in the neighborhood?

I think it adds class to it and I think it actually helps the kids get some feel for art too by looking at these. Because we come from New York and you don’t see much of this over there. Unfortunately, what you do see is kids drawing but not the right things like this. On the subways. And so this is really nice, thought out and realistic. It’s a really nice feeling. Keep on doing what you’re doing. Very nice. Very nice.