Throughout my professional career as an artist, I have had the opportunity to engage in community-based public art projects. My first experience with public art was in 1992 as part of an international collaborative group that produced an interactive multipart installation in Cagliari, Sardegna. This impactful project demonstrated the power of art to transcend language and cultural differences. In 2003, I created a collaborative sculpture as part of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s “DinoMite Days”, which featured over one hundred dinosaur sculptures installed throughout Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Although my artworks typically tend to be smaller-scale, I have appreciated the immersive aspects of larger-scale installations that I have created as part of these public art projects. These experiences were integrated into my individual studio practice through a 600 square foot fictive art installation, “Ancient Art-i-facts of the Early 21st Century” that I exhibited in multiple venues 2009 to 2013. In 2023, I returned to exploring fictive art through a large-scale installation piece that I am currently scheduling for public exhibition. In 2025, we were fortunate to be commissioned by the City of Denton to produce a public art piece, the UFO, for Area 940.

© James Thurman

Contact: jathurman@hotmail.com

PUBLIC ART