Quick report on the workshop

Informative workshop hosted by the Los Angeles Civic Arts Program. I've been vetted for a public arts program in the past, but was not a finalist, so it was good to get some more information on how to make a stronger app. I've been doing some things right.
√ Sincere letter of interest
√ Strong work

What I did learn was what to include on the resume and what to leave off. They could care less about group shows. They want to see your teaching experience. They want to know from your references that you can work well with others and meet deadlines. I'm pretty sure my references will back me up on that and now I can highlight my teaching experience rather than mention it at the end. And lose the majority of group shows. They were useful when I first moved to LA and when I returned to painting, but they've probably served their purpose now.

They're really open to gallery artists who have NOT done public art before, so that's not as big a deterrent as I thought. They also showed some examples of some projects and I can't believe I'm going to say this, but in a million years I never imagined simply painting a supergraphic on building or a wall would be considered public art. I know- murals, where have I been? But again, in my mind most murals are narrative like the amazing examples I've come across in post offices. Think Diego Rivera or Thomas Hart Benton. Seeing abstract painted buildings totally opened up my world of interest and ideas. As a gallery artist, (that's the term the commission used) I kept limiting myself to what I considered public art. You know, traditional outdoor materials, large scale, sculptures or intricate bronze work, stained glass, etc. My biggest obstacle was figuring how, as a painter, to make public art. And on top of that, I had mistakenly assumed that abstract art would be dismissed for not relating to a broader community. So, yep. excellent use of 2 hours of my day, not including travel time. They even reimbursed for parking.