“The arts, it has been said, cannot change the world, but they may change human beings who might change the world.”

- Maxine Greene (American Educational Philosopher, 1917-2014)

“I find that there is more than meets the eye with the art you find in your neighborhood. In fact, I believe there’s a higher social remedy that accessible, public-facing art plays within our communities. Take a moment to consider how art gets us talking. Conversation and exchange, as simple as they sound, are pivotal for communities and are a means for positive change and bridge-building. This is why I explore neighborhoods, seek art, and spark conversations.”

Art enthusiast and self-described museum dropout **Catherine Huff** walks across New York City and beyond exploring neighborhood art and its local value.

She turns to an array of community members as her guides, inverting conventional perceptions of an “art expert” or the “art field.” Locals point Catherine to art that they define as art and that they find meaningful, remarkable, or somehow significant for their particular neighborhood.

The Art Field Project exists to document the happy-go-lucky process of wandering New York City and beyond while engaging with public-facing art and the magnetic people who create, love (or hate), and live among these artworks. Through an ever-growing, community-powered interactive art map, as well as a collection of profiles, essays, and helpful art and neighborhood resources, the Art Field Project encourages curiosity, community inquiry, and accessible art appreciation for everyone.

Catherine Javiera Huff (she/her) is an art historian, researcher and producer. She recently received her Master’s at Columbia University’s Teacher’s College, where she was a two-time Arthur Zankel Urban Fellow within the Communication, Media, and Technologies Design Program.

Currently, Catherine is an Associate Producer at WNET’S ALL ARTS, and is a researcher for the the Romare Bearden Catalogue Raisonné Project at the Wildenstein Plattner Institute in New York.

In the past, Catherine has worked on curatorial, collections and exhibition teams at the High Museum of Art (Atlanta) and the Georgia Museum of Art (Athens). She also served as a councilmember on the inaugural public art advisory council for the Atlanta Beltline.

Catherine lives and works between New York and Atlanta.