Palo Alto Public Art Survey

The City of Palo Alto retained ARG Conservation Services (ARG/CS) to provide a conditions assessment for twelve permanent artworks in the City of Palo Alto’s public art collection. The selected artworks are murals located throughout the City that were installed between 1980 and 2013. All of the artworks are located outdoors with the exception of “Follow Your Heart” by Mark Verlander.

The assessment began with a three day survey that commenced on June 15, 2016. ARG/CS conservators began with the artworks located on California Avenue. During the assessment, the City of Palo Alto provided records of previous treatments and repairs to inform the survey findings and recommendations for each mural.

An assessment template was created for each artwork’s survey data. The data was organized into sections including a general description, condition photographs and summaries, site notes, treatment recommendations, and cost estimates. Each artwork was assigned a low, medium, or high treatment priority based on the evaluation of its current condition and environment. Cost estimates were provided for budget planning purposes.