Hot Topics in Public Art 3

I’m thrilled to introduce the panelists for the third PUBLIC ART PARTY on April 16th at the amazing Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn! This community building event for people across the public art ecosystem is open and welcoming to all.

Since this iteration will FOCUS ON FABRICATION, please invite all your favorite fabricators so we can meet them!

Almost half of the tickets have already sold, so do go ahead and grab yours if you plan to join us. Questions? There is more info here, or you can email me at [email protected].

Erica Behrens
Director, USA/Canada, Mayer of Munich
https://mayersche-hofkunst.de/en

Since 2004, Erica Behrens has directed the Mayer studio’s U.S. office in New York City, serving as its full-time presence overseeing projects and business development throughout the United States and Canada.

Prior to joining the studio, Ms. Behrens spent eleven years managing high-profile public art commissions and special initiatives for the MTA Arts & Design Program. She studied art history at Mount Holyoke College and pursued additional graduate studies in Art Management at New York University.

With decades of experience collaborating with contemporary artists, galleries, and museums internationally—including the Museum of Modern Art in New York—Ms. Behrens brings a distinctive passion, curatorial and project management perspective to the studio’s work. She works closely with artists, architects, designers, administrators, and consultants at every critical stage of a project, from proposal development through fabrication and installation, and beyond. In addition to her work with Mayer of Munich, Ms. Behrens is involved with independent curatorial work, private collections, and other unique projects in the contemporary art arena.

Brittni Collins
Director of Public Art, Powerhouse Arts
https://powerhousearts.org

Brittni Collins is the Director of Public Art at Powerhouse Arts, where she oversees the production of large-scale commissions from artist conception through fabrication and installation. Previously, she was the Assistant Director of Times Square Arts, collaborating with artists and cultural institutions to experiment and engage with one of the world's most iconic urban spaces. In earlier roles, she expanded artist resources and virtual programming at MacDowell and oversaw artist services and award funding at Creative Capital. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, she holds a BA in Economics from Emory University and serves on the board of Burnaway, an Atlanta-based magazine of contemporary art and criticism from the American South.

Xenia Diente
Public Art Deputy Director, Design and Construction Excellence, NYC Department of Design and Construction
https://www.nyc.gov/site/ddc/index.page

Xenia Diente is a visual artist and public art administrator based in Queens, NYC. As Public Art Deputy Director at the NYC Department of Design and Construction, a role she has held since 2002, she has overseen a $17 million active portfolio and completed over 60 permanent public art across more than 20 NYC agencies, overseeing every phase from planning, design, through fabrication and installation in civic facilities and infrastructure.

Outside of city government, Xenia co-founded Little Manila Queens Bayanihan Arts, a collective that celebrates Filipino diasporic communities in Woodside Queens and beyond. LMQBA participated in the Laundromat Project create change residency 2020, Monument Lab's 2022 Re:Generation cohort and exhibited community work at MoMA PS1 Homeroom in 2024.

Xenia holds a BFA from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (1999).

Sean Kizy
Founder and Principal, Kizy Art Productions
https://www.kizyartproductions.com/

Sean Billy Kizy, RA, is an artist, licensed architect, and the founder and creative director of Kizy Art Productions, a Detroit and Brooklyn-based studio specializing in the realization of ambitious public artworks and large-scale cultural installations. Trained as an architect at Rice University and the University of Michigan, Kizy works at the intersection of sculpture, architecture, and fabrication, collaborating with leading contemporary artists, architects, and cultural institutions.

Through Kizy Art Productions, he has led the production and installation of major works for artists including Nick Cave, Phillip K. Smith III, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Josiah McElheny, and others, coordinating complex projects that span design development, engineering, and fabrication. His work bridges artistic vision with technical execution, helping bring experimental and monumental public artworks into the built environment.

Before founding Kizy Art Productions, Kizy worked at SHoP Architects and OMA New York and later served as Lead Project Manager at UAP, where he managed the fabrication and installation of numerous international art commissions.

Mia Pearlman
Artist and Moderator
https://www.miapearlman.com

Mia Pearlman has exhibited internationally in numerous galleries, non-profit spaces and museums, including the MSU Broad Art Museum (Michigan), Museum of Arts and Design (NYC), Goyang Aram Gallery (South Korea), Smack Mellon (Brooklyn, NY), the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington DC), and the Manchester Art Gallery (UK).

Permanent commissions include large scale, site specific sculptures for Liberty Mutual's headquarters (Boston), the 80th Street A Train station for MTA Arts & Design (Queens, NY), MGM Springfield (Springfield, MA), Zhongshan Huafa Plaza (Zhongshan, China), and Baptist Medical Clay (Fleming Island, FL), as well as paper installations and sculptures for Leon Max (London) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (NY).

Her work has been featured in over 25 books on contemporary art, and in both international and domestic press, including The New York Times, New York Magazine, The New York Post, and The Boston Globe. Pearlman has also appeared on PBS Thirteen’s SundayArts, the Smithsonian Channel, Spain’s TV3, and NY1. 

Hope to see you on April 16th!!

Mia Pearlman
http://miapearlman.com