A new steering committee is being formed to take a closer look at the public art on the Pittsburgh campus and to discuss what pieces might be added in the future.

The Public Art on Campus Initiative has a goal of building a public art collection on Pitt’s grounds. It will hold a public kick-off event Thursday, Jan. 30, from 4 to 5 p.m. on the plaza outside the Schenley Drive entrance to Posvar Hall. Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Ann E. Cudd and Senior Vice Chancellor for Business and Operations Greg Scott will introduce the initiative. Blank cards will be available so that attendees can make their own suggestions about artwork on campus and where they’d like it to be.

In a related pilot project, a team of Pitt archivists and artists—with the help of several Pitt students—will soon begin a comprehensive inventory of Pitt’s current collection of public art. Using a $49,000 special project grant, the team will use a grad student assistant and undergraduate interns to conduct research and collect data on Pitt’s various sculptures, iron works, paintings and the like. The initial plan is to inventory more than a dozen outdoor art pieces as well as the artwork within Mervis Hall and Alumni Hall. The team will investigate the artist, the piece itself, when and how Pitt received it and the reason it is on campus.