City of Syracuse new public arts coordinator Anne Cofer. Photographed in Downtown Syracuse. Credit: Anne Downes

Anne Cofer hopes to revamp public art in Syracuse. 

Just last month, Cofer became the city’s public arts coordinator, a role created to make sure public arts’ boom in Syracuse continues.

Since stepping into the new role, Cofer has started ideating, planning, and visiting potential spaces for public art. 

“Public art is vitally important as it is a vehicle through which the city can be celebrated. It can pinpoint important aspects of the city’s culture, its diversity, and its history,” Cofer said. “Also, public art can bring communities together through collaboration in public artworks as well as creating spaces and places where communities can gather within the city.”

Public art is vital to the city’s economy and can help attract visitors to Syracuse, Cofer said.

Cofer is the first new public arts coordinator since 2009, a role previously filled by Kate Auwaerter. Her focus is to keep grant money flowing to public arts projects in the city. 

Some of the city’s public art was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, meant to ease cities’ financial burdens tied to the Covid-19 pandemic. Syracuse will have to use that money by the end of 2024. That presents a financial cliff for public art: Key funding will dissipate at year’s end.   

Obtaining funding will be one of Cofer’s key tasks to facilitate public art in the city. She and her team are currently pursuing grants and funding opportunities to recruit and support artists. 

She’ll also be helping to commission artwork and create artist residencies. 

Cofer, who has a professional background as a mixed media installation artist and educator for two decades, has started to envision what the role can do for the future of public arts. Since taking on the position, Cofer has supported local public art initiatives including City As Canvas and the incorporation of additional art installations on the Onondaga Creekwalk. She is currently working toward completing three public art projects.

Cofer has lived in Syracuse for 25 years and is a mother of four children, who have all attended Syracuse city schools. 

“I think that’s interesting to people who live and work in the city that you actually are committed to the city,” Cofer said. 

Cofer moved to Syracuse from England after receiving her bachelor’s degree from The University of the West of England Bristol. She then attended Syracuse University where she graduated with a MFA in fine arts.

In the last decade or so, Cofer has seen an increased demand for murals throughout the city and county. She is excited to fill the increased demand for murals in the city. Projects like City As Canvas, which created six murals across the city, have spurred a desire for even more murals, she said.

“We have lots of murals in the city, so what will be great is if we can now compliment that with some sculptural pieces in the city,” Cofer said. 

Cofer plans to help with public art projects already in motion. One of those projects is at Lipe Art Park on the city’s West Side. The park became city property about a year and a half ago. It has long operated in various forms: as an outdoor venue, a place for public art projects, and a recreational park. Cofer would like to upgrade Lipe Art Park with new artwork installations, she said. 

She has already begun discussing the next steps in the process of finalizing plans with the parks commissioner Tony Williams. 

Cofer is also focused on the Onondaga Creekwalk, where Cofer plans to partner with the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Youth Programs to add more art installations. Neither project has a definitive timeline, but Cofer predicts they could be rolled out in six to 12 months. 

The Parks Department has also expressed interest in creating a community art program, Cofer said. Artists would work with kids in youth programs created by the Syracuse City School District or Parks Department. The art would reflect the neighborhood and be designed in a space representative of the community. 

“That’s’ something we haven’t seen so much in the city of Syracuse,” Cofer said. 

As Cofer looks ahead to settling into her new role, she is equally ready to refine the city’s outlook on sustaining public arts through collaborative and newly proposed objectives. 

“You find out when you’re working here, there’s quite a lot of art activities people are putting in and calls for proposals for artists,” Cofer said. 

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Yolanda Stewart was raised in the Bronx, New York City. Before choosing a career path in journalism she found a voice in writing plays, short stories, and a myriad of other creative outlets. She is a 2022...