President Santa J. Ono has committed $5 million from central University of Michigan funding to further develop U-M’s public art collection over the next five years, in support of the university’s Vision 2034 goals.
The President’s Advisory Committee on Public Art, which will advise on how to best use the public art budget, has identified an internationally celebrated artist to create a unique piece of public art for the Ann Arbor campus.
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The artist, still to be announced, will engage with the U-M campus and community and will spend more than a year completing the work.
“As one of the nation’s foremost public universities, U-M must be as exceptional in the arts as it is in the sciences,” Ono said. “Every student, and every member of our staff and faculty, should have the opportunity to experience the inspiration and power of the arts.”
Currently, U-M’s collection of public art contains roughly 130 pieces, with works in highly visible areas around the U-M Museum of Art, on Central Campus and on North Campus, as well as more unexpected locations such as the courtyards of the Bentley Historical Library or the Randall Laboratory.


“Public art has the remarkable capacity to articulate the identity of a place, to foster connections, spark dialogue and joy, and create a sense of belonging. It can embody core values, new research methodologies, and deploy methods of student and community engagement,” said Jennifer Carty, curator of art in public spaces.
“Over time, buildings and landscapes change across campus, but public art endures, shaping our experience, cultivating memories, and expressing a university’s values and history for generations to come.”
One of the university’s most prized works of public art — The Wave Field on North Campus — comes from Maya Lin, best known for designing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama.
Her contribution to the U-M collection appears as a naturally occurring wave pattern formed with earth and grass encompassing 10,000 square feet. This example of “land art” takes inspiration from the studies of fluid dynamics, aerodynamics and turbulence, and is Lin’s first of three subsequent wave fields. The Wave Field is adjacent to the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building.
The university’s most recent major acquisition is possibly one of U-M’s most recognizable pieces due to its 24-foot stature and prominent placement in front of UMMA. Spanish artist Jaume Plensa’s “Behind the Walls” was acquired in 2020 and depicts the monumental head of a young girl shielding her eyes with her hands.
“‘Behind the Walls’ calls attention to the ways we often blind ourselves to avoid facing the harsh realities of modern life,” Carty said. “The meditative sculpture also stems from a wider series where the artist renders large scale depictions of young women in public space, shedding light on who is, and who is not, represented in public monuments.”
One of the components of Vision 2034 is a recognition of the role that the arts—including public art—play in people’s lives. “U-M commits to supporting the creation of art and cutting-edge spaces essential to artistic innovation and rich public engagement,” the Vision 2034 website says.
“This bold investment in public art embodies the U-M’s vision as the defining public university, with a deep commitment to the common good and to a campus that is meaningful and unique to our communities,” said Christina Olsen, chair of the President’s Advisory Committee on Public Art and director of the University of Michigan’s Museum of Art.
Additional details on future public art commissions and acquisitions will be forthcoming.