Fort Worth Public Art - Art Comission

Fort Worth Art Commission

In October 2001 the City of Fort Worth created landmark legislation to set aside two percent (2%) of capital construction costs for the creation of public art. The ordinance also established the Fort Worth Art Commission (FWAC) to advise City Council on matters of public art and the development of the Fort Worth Public Art Program. The Mayor appointed 9 individuals from the community ---many with expertise in art and design--- to serve on the Fort Worth Art Commission in February 2002. By August 2002, the city selected the Arts Council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, Inc. to manage the program.

Date for the next Fort Worth Art Commission meeting:
Monday July 14, 2008
Fort Worth Community Arts Center
5:30 PM
Click here to download the most recent agenda.
(Please note that agendas will be posted 96 hours prior to the meeting)

Kirk Millican (Chair) is Senior Vice President and Principal, HOK Architects and oversees multiple commercial, transportation, urban design, and public and institutional projects. Mr. Millican served as the local coordinator for “Save Outdoor Sculpture!” a program funded by the National Museum of American Art and the Smithsonian Institution which surveyed all publicly accessible outdoor sculpture in Tarrant County. An award-winning architect, Mr. Millican has collaborated with artists on numerous project incorporating art into the architecture

Helen Sides (Vice Chair) is the co-founder of Centro Cultural de las Americas and currently serves as the Executive Director. Ms. Sides received her Associate of Arts Degree in Business Management from Tarrant County College in 1982 and completed a dual minor in Business Management and Spanish from the University of Texas in Arlington in 1988.

Eduardo Aguilar is a Professor of Art at Tarrant County College, Northwest Campus. In his 31 year tenure he has served as Department Chair for Communications and Fine Arts/Languages and is the Visual Arts Department Chair for 2007-08 year. He has a long professional career as an exhibition juror as well as exhibiting his own work statewide. He has served as a Board Member of the Texas Association of Schools of Art and as President of T.A.S.A. He also served as President of the TCC/Northwest Faculty Association. Eduardo has received numerous professional awards such as the TACHE 2003 Distinguished Community College Faculty Award, the 2003 TCC/NW Chancellor's Award for Exemplary Teaching and the 2004 Minnie Stevens Piper Professor Award.

Regina J. Blair is a native of Fort Worth, recipient of a Bachelor of Architecture from Prairie View A&M University, Masters of City Planning and Masters of Science in Architectural Studies from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Masters in Business Administration from Texas Christian University. Founder and president of the Stop Six Sunrise Edition Neighborhood Association, Inc., and President / CEO of Sunrise Edition Redevelopment Organization Ms. Blair is helping to revitalize the Stop Six community. Ms. Blair also serves on various Fort Worth boards, commissions and committees and chairs Fort Worth Sister Cities International, Mbabane, Swaziland Committee. Ms. Blair has received numerous awards and grants including the Fort Worth Outstanding Woman Who Volunteers award in 2005.

Randall Gideon has over 30 years of experience in project management and is a founding Principal of Gideon Toal which provides project oversight for architecture, master planning and interior design projects. For more than two decades he has been exceptionally active on behalf of architects at the national, state, and local levels in regulatory matters critical to the profession, leading efforts to create a more stable, rich, and harmonious built environment for all citizens. An award-winning architect, Mr. Gideon was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 1999. He has also served on the board of several prominent civic organizations including Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. and Streams and Valleys, Inc. A graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington , Mr. Gideon is a past President of the Texas Society of Architects as well as a past President of the Fort Worth Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Albert Komatsu founded Fort Worth based architecture firm Komatsu Architecture in 1959. He taught architectural design at the University of Texas at Arlington and Urban Design at Texas Christian University . Currently he is a member of the Board of Trustees, Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art and served as Past Presidents of the Fort Worth Japanese Society of Military Engineers and Fort Worth Chapter American Institute of Architect

Rebecca Lawton has been a curator at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth since October 2000, and currently holds the title curator of paintings and sculpture. Ms. Lawton began her career as the research assistant for the exhibition and catalogue The Arts and Crafts Movement in New York State, which won the Henry Allen Moe Prize for scholarship. From 1984 until 1988, she was the assistant curator of American art at the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington. Prior to her arrival at the Carter, Rebecca was the Emily Hargroves Fisher Curator at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Rebecca earned a B.A. from Colorado College and an MA in art history from Syracuse University.

Dr. Elva Concha LeBlanc is President of Tarrant County College, Northwest Campus. Prior to joining TCC, Dr. LeBlanc was President of Galveston College. Dr. LeBlanc led in increasing learning opportunities for Galveston College students by expanding coursework offerings through computer delivered instruction, garnering federal dollars through Title V and TRIO Programs, participating in the “Achieving the Dream Program,” funded by the Lumina Foundation, and increasing partnerships with other institutions such as UT Medical Branch, Galveston I.S.D. and Texas A&M. At Austin Community College, Dr. LeBlanc served as Executive Vice President for Instructional Affairs, the chief academic officer for the multi-campus district. A former TCC student and alumna of the University of North Texas, Dr. Le Blanc previously served TCC as Dean of Instruction, Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Professor. Dr. Le Blanc was elected to the Executive Council of the Commission on Colleges, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Board of Directors of the American Association of Community Colleges. She was recently appointed to the MHMR of Tarrant County Board

Dr. Mark Thistlethwaite (Chair 2002 - 2007) is a Professor and holder of the Kay and Velma Kimbell Chair of Art History at Texas Christian University. He has published books and monographs on a number of art historical topics. Dr. Thistlethwaite teaches a TCU class in contemporary public art.

For current information on FWAC meetings visit the City Calendar or the FWPA Calendar.