Information, Inquiry and Intervention Public Art Network

Heritage and Conservation-Restoration

• Typology:  Research and Development.
• State: Ongoing.
• Partner institutions: The partners of i3PAN are: CITAR-UCP; CEAU-FAUP; CIAUD-UBI; CIEBA-FBAUL; HERCULES-UE; HEI-Lab-ULHT; ID+-FBAUP; IHA-FCSH-UNL, Urban Creativity-FBAUL; and VICARTE- FCT-UNL.

Abstract
Because of its implantation in unprotected sites and in spaces where human practical activities take place, public art collections do not benefit from the attention and care of other artistic collections, being in one hand devalued and, on the other, remaining exposed to natural degradation, as well as to mutilations and damage caused by human action.

So it was decided to create an organism meant to observe and to follow the conservation state of those collections, to do critical studies on the implantation processes of new pieces, as well as to develop scientific research on public art collections, in order to gain a better understanding of its specificities.

Based on these assumptions, was settled the Information, Inquiry and Intervention Public Art Network – i3PAN. A CITAR initiative which gathers, as co-founders, research centres of public and private universities from North, Centre and South Portugal.

Objectives of i3PAN: To collect information on local, regional, national and international public art works; To build a public art information system at local, regional, national and international level; To issue valuations and to do reports about public art works and programs; To build a network of national and international partners with common interests in the field of public art; To invite artists with relevant work in these areas to present and discuss their work; To follow and to reflect critically about the evolution of public art; To strive for the safeguarding, preservation, conservation and restoration of the material and immaterial heritage related to all expressions and forms of public art, from statuary to street art, without forgetting the monumental religious imaginary; To create and maintain a website with information on the state of conservation and report the theft of public art works; To provide certified information about good practices on design, programming and maintenance of public art projects; To provide certified information about good practices on conservation and restoration of works of public art.

Main researcher
PI - José Guilherme Abreu (CITAR)

Research team
Frederico Henriques (CITAR), Henrique Manuel Pereira (CITAR), Isabel Moura Ferreira, Laura Castro (CITAR), Patrícia Moreira (CITAR)