01 Jun 2015 Art News New Zealand, New Zealand Section: General News • Article type : News Item • Audience : 4,500 • Page: 50 Printed Size: 370.00cm² • Market: NZ • Country: New Zealand • ASR: NZD 831 Words: 290 • Item ID: 409291363 Provided for client's internal research purposes only. May not be further copied, distributed, sold or published in any form without the prior consent of the copyright owner. Page 1 of 1 The climate of change An upcoming conference aims to expand understanding of public art and urban place-making. Far right: The Geometry of Conscience by Alfredo Jaar Right: Makoko floating school by Kunle Adeyemi A rt and its relationshipto urban development will be the focus of the second International Award for Public Art (IAPA) exhibition and conference taking place in July. Finalists include projects as diverse as a floating school in Nigeria, a restaurant that only serves cuisine from countries the US is in conflict with, a pavilion for post-earthquake Christchurch and memorial for the victims of the 17 years of Pinochet dictatorship, all of which represent the rich, challenging, and divergent practice of art making in the public realm. Hosted by Elam School of Fine Arts and Shandong University (China) and held at the University of Auckland, the bilingual (Chinese/ English) conference, Cities in a Climate of Change: Public Art and Environmental and Social Ecologies, seeks to promote and advance culturally diverse and socially responsive public art. Over four days, the conference will bring together leading artists, curators, urban planners, architects, public health and environmental scientists from around the world. The International Award for Public Art is a global search for the most outstanding recent socially engaged art projects. An international jury of leading contemporary art curators and museum directors reviewed hundreds of projects and selected 32 that will feature in an exhibition at Auckland Art Gallery alongside the conference. The creators of the seven finalist projects will present their work at the conference. The conference will take place in the Engineering Building, at the University of Auckland, 20 Symonds Street, 1-4 July, 2015 A limited number of free daily passes to the Cities in a Climate of Change conference are available to interested practitioners. To find out more visit iapa2015.nz.