PAD Shout Out

Penny Balkin Bach is the 2013 recipient of the PAD Award in recognition of her longstanding and continuing contributions to the field of public art. As the Executive Director and Chief Curator of Philadelphia's Fairmount Park Art Association (recently renamed the Association for Public Art), the first private non-profit organization devoted to public art in the United States, Bach has led creative initiatives to broaden appreciation for public art in its multiple forms. In addition to her efforts to protect outdoor sculpture in Philadelphia are the groundbreaking programs: Light Up Philadelphia, Form and Function, New•Land•Marks, and Museum Without Walls. She currently serves on the Public Art Network Council (PAN) of the Americans for the Arts, and has also served on numerous public art juries in the U.S. and abroad, and advisory committees for conservation. She is a consummate advocate for public art in her writing as well (such as Public Art in Philadelphia, published by Temple University Press), and has focused on ways to enhance community engagement with the art. Ms. Bach earned her undergraduate degree at the Tyler School of Art, Temple University, and her Masters degree from Goddard College in Vermont. Join the dialogue with PAD's newest awardee in NYC Feb. 13-16, 2013. More info soon!