Association for Public Art

Association for Public Art (formerly Fairmount Park Art Association)

Medallion on the back of statue of "Puma"
Abbreviation	aPA
Formation	1872 [1]
Purpose	Commission, preserve, promote, and interpret public art in Philadelphia
Headquarters	1528 Walnut Street, Suite 1000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, U.S.
Region served	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Website	http://www.associationforpublicart.org/

Established in 1872 in Philadelphia, the Association for Public Art (aPA), formerly Fairmount Park Art Association, is the first private, nonprofit public art organization dedicated to integrating public art and urban planning in the United States.^[2] The association commissions, preserves, promotes, and interprets public art in Philadelphia,^[3] and it has contributed to Philadelphia being maintaining of the nation's largest public art collections.^[4]

The aPA has acquired and commissioned works by many notable sculptors, including Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Alexander Stirling Calder, Daniel Chester French, Frederic Remington, Paul Manship, and Albert Laessle,^[5] supported city planning projects, established an outdoor sculpture conservation program, and sponsored numerous publications, exhibitions, and educational programs.^[6] The aPA interprets and preserves more than 200 works of art throughout Philadelphia,^[7] working with the city's Public Art Office, Fairmount Park, and other organizations and agencies responsible for placing and caring for outdoor sculpture in Philadelphia,^[8] and maintains an inventory of all of the city's public art.^[9]