GROUP STRUCTURE
After completing a series of tours, lectures, and research exercises, students will be divided into three working groups. Each group will have a distinct area of focus, while collaborating to develop a cohesive final report.

VISUAL IDENTITY & INFORMATION DESIGN

This group will develop the overall visual language and information-design system for the report. This includes identity, typography, color, mapping, graphic language, photography, data visualization, and information hierarchy.

The focus will be on translating complex research into a visual system that is clear, compelling, accessible, and useful to a public audience.

The group will also consider how the report can establish a consistent visual framework for presenting the city’s public art and making the larger body of research legible and engaging.

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DATA & DOCUMENTATION
This group will build from the public art audit and focus on documentation, mapping, spatial analysis, concentrations of public art, patterns, and impact across the city.

A particular area of inquiry will be how data might help us better understand the relationship between public art, economic viability, neighborhood development, and public safety.

The Newark Public Safety Collaborative (NPSC) has also been developing research examining the relationship between public art and safety. Where appropriate, we will explore opportunities to integrate this research and related data into the larger report.

The goal is not simply to present data, but to use data as a tool for identifying patterns, asking questions, and developing a deeper understanding of Newark’s public art ecosystem.

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ARTIST VOICES & ORAL HISTORIES
This group will bring a more human, narrative, and creative dimension to the report.

Through artist interviews, oral histories, and first-person perspectives, students will explore the experiences and stories behind Newark’s public art: who made it, why it was created, how artists experienced the process, and how the work has been received and understood over time.

This component is important to ensuring that the report does not function solely as a data or inventory document. It should also reflect the people, experiences, histories, and perspectives that make Newark’s public art ecosystem what it is.

Together, these three areas—Visual Identity & Information Design, Data & Documentation, and Artist Voices & Oral Histories—will contribute to a single, integrated public art report that combines evidence, interpretation, and storytelling.