Doris Chanin Freedman (1928–1981) was a pioneer in the field of

public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...

, active in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She was the daughter of architect Irwin Salmon Chanin and his wife Sylvia Schofler. Freedman graduated from

Albright College Albright College is a private liberal arts college in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1856. History Albright College traces its founding to 1856 when Union Seminary opened. Present-day Albright was formed by the mergers of several ins ...

, Pennsylvania in 1950, where she would later help fund the creation of the school's art gallery. Founded in 1975, Freedman Gallery's primary aim is to represent living American contemporary artists. Freedman also received a master's degree in social work from Columbia University. From 1971 to 1980 Freedman was the president of City Walls Inc., a

not-for-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, established in 1969 which worked with artists and communities to revitalize New York City through public art and had sponsored more than fifty

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s. In 1971, she founded the Public Arts Council; “both organizations provided technical assistance and financial support for a wide variety of projects, and developed programs to explore the potential of urban public spaces”. In 1977 she founded the

Public Art Fund Public Art Fund is an independent, non-profit arts organization founded in 1977 by Doris Freedman, Doris C. Freedman. The organization presents contemporary art in New York City's public spaces through a series of highly visible artists' projects, n ...

of the City of New York by merging City Walls and the Public Arts Council. Freedman served as New York City's first Director of Cultural Affairs during the Lindsay Administration, and as President of the

Municipal Art Society The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) is a non-profit membership organization for preservation in New York City, which aims to encourage thoughtful planning and urban design and inclusive neighborhoods across the city. The organization was ...

. Greatly through her efforts New York City introduced

Percent for Art The term percent for art refers to a program, often a city ordinance, where a fee, usually some percentage of the project cost, is placed on large scale development projects in order to fund and install public art. The details of such programs var ...

legislation in 1982, which requires civil construction projects to spend a portion of their budgets on art. Freedman also hosted the radio show Artists in the City on

WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that di ...

. The southeast entrance of Central Park in Manhattan, located at the corner of the Park at 60th Street and

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

was dedicated to Freedman by Mayor

Edward I. Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayo ...

in 1981.''The Doris C. Freedman Plaza'' in her honor. It is the site of rotating sculptural art installations presented by the Public Art Fund. In 1982 the ''Doris C. Freedman Award'', dedicated to her memory was established by Executive Order by Mayor Koch. The Award honors “an individual or organization for a contribution to the people of the City of New York that greatly enriches the public environment”. Her daughter Susan K Freedman is currently president of the Public Art Fund.

References

External links

publicartfund.org
Public Art Fund official website 1928 births 1981 deaths

American people of Polish-Jewish descent Culture of New York City Activists from New York City Albright College alumni {{NewYork-politician-stub

See also

References

External links