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Nassau arts group offers to help the city screen artists and manage public-art projects
Summary
Richard Restiano of the Nassau Council of Arts and Culture told PRAC his organization can provide artist screening, consultant contacts and project packaging to support the city's public-art program after the previous Arts and Culture body was sunsetted.
Richard Restiano, speaking for the Nassau Council of Arts and Culture (formerly Arts and Culture Nassau), urged the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee to consider the nonprofit as a partner to help screen artists, prepare options for city review, and advise on budgets and installation requirements.
Restiano described how his group historically acted as a gatekeeper: soliciting artists, conducting preliminary reviews for suitability and safety (for example advice on base size and security for freestanding sculptures), and packaging recommended options with cost estimates for the city to consider. "We have the people. We have the resources," he told the Committee when outlining what the nonprofit could provide.
He also explained why the countywide Arts and Culture body had been sunsetted: governance concerns about conflict-of-interest, sunshine-law limits on informal briefings, and very limited funding for the prior structure. Restiano said the nonprofit has been formed to address those problems and is working to obtain local agency designation and fundraising capacity to support countywide projects.
Committee members welcomed the offer but reiterated the need for transparent public input and stronger criteria for murals and private-property projects that impact public view corridors.
