Through our Fieldwork program, Shiftworks partners with organizations, municipalities, institutions, developers, and community-based groups to plan and implement public art initiatives grounded in place and responsive to community priorities. This work is an essential part of our nonprofit mission.
Client Projects
We believe artists play a vital role in shaping the physical, social, and cultural life of our communities. By connecting clients with artists from across our region—and by creating thoughtful structures that support collaboration—we increase the visibility of artists, expand opportunities for them to contribute their expertise, and generate meaningful paid work within the creative economy.
Our client projects draw upon our broad experience in public art, community engagement, design, and the public realm—from early brainstorming and project development to artist selection, project management, strategic planning, and policy development.
Our Services
Our services can be tailored to projects at any stage.
We offer introductory consultations to explore opportunities, clarify goals, assess potential project types, and identify appropriate approaches. We also provide benchmarking and best-practice research, including presentations of exemplary public art projects, programs, and policies. Shiftworks staff may also serve on public art, civic design, or project advisory committees, bringing specialized knowledge and a community-centered perspective to the process.
For organizations seeking more comprehensive support, we provide customized consulting services on a fee-for-service basis. These engagements may include developing public art plans, policies, guidelines, and procedures; creating strategies for development sites, public spaces, or facilities; designing equitable artist selection processes; facilitating community engagement; and managing projects from concept through implementation.
Through every Fieldwork partnership, our goal is to strengthen the conditions in which artists, communities, and public art can thrive.
More Information
For more information or to inquire about a potential project, please contact Sallyann Kluz, Executive Director, at sallyann@shiftworkspgh.org.
Selected Current Projects
Light-based Artwork for the Sister Bridges
Shiftworks manages artist selection and project coordination for the annual artist-designed light-based artworks on the Roberto Clemente, Andy Warhol, and Rachel Carson bridges.
Site Furnishings for The Plaza at Hazelwood Green
In 2018, Shiftworks, in partnership with Monmade, was hired to lead the commissioning of site furnishings designed by local artists for this two-acre park space.
Route 28 Sound Barrier Wall
Shiftworks was hired by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to manage artist selection and oversee the design of concrete panels of sound barrier walls as part of the Highland Park Bridge interchange reconstruction on Route 28.
CLO Academy Mural
Hired by Pittsburgh CLO, Shiftworks provided artist selection and project management services for the commission of a large-scale mural above the alleyway entrance to the Pittsburgh CLO Academy in Downtown Pittsburgh.
Fern Hollow Bridge
Following the tragic collapse in 2022, PennDOT led the design and construction of a new bridge on the site. Shiftworks hosted a workshop with Pittsburgh Creative Corps artists and identified two locations for artwork in the new design. Shiftworks then facilitated artist selection and project management for the resulting two commissions.
Pittsburgh Creative Corps
Designed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this initiative commissions artists and other creative workers to fabricate and install public art and create civic engagement programs throughout Downtown and along the three rivers.
Image credits
Top to bottom, left to right:
(1) Meet Me in the Square by artist David Pohl, photo courtesy Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership; (2) Installation of two flints, a fire; a fire quenched by artist Sarika Goulatia, photo by Shiftworks; (3) Other Side of the World by Ball-Nogues Studio, photo by Renee Rosensteel