Stephen AntonakosJennifer BartlettAlexander CalderMark di SuveroRafael FerrerRichard FleischnerRed GroomsLawrence HalprinLloyd HamrolMichael HeizerRobert IndianaRobert IrwinCharles MooreRobert MorrisLouise NevelsonIsamu NoguchiClaes OldenburgEero SaarinenAlan SonfistGeorge SugarmanAthena Tacha

“What is public art? The dialogue between citizens and art works has been intrinsic to the life of every great city in history. Public art is not a style or a movement, but a compound social service based on the premise that public well-being is enhanced by the presence of large scale art works in public spaces.”
Janet Kardon, Curator and ICA Director, 1980

Urban Encounters: An Architecture Audience documents twenty-one selected sites in the United States that have been marked by an architect, landscape architect, painter, or sculptor from the 1965 to 1980. This multi-media exhibition aimed to show the great diversity of different artwork and sites of public art. Simultaneously, the Institute of Contemporary Art published a map as a service to the citizens of Philadelphia and visitors of the city to locate sixty public art works installed since 1959 in four areas of Philadelphia. The exhibition features public art from artists including Stephen Antonakos, Mark di Suvero, Richard Fleischner, Red Grooms, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Indiana. In response to this exhibition, Willian J. Green, Mayor of the City of Philadelphia then, proclaimed March 18th, 1980 as the Public Art Day for the City of Philadelphia.