Please join us as our panelists address the complexities involved in intellectual property rights and moral rights related to public art and street art, property rights for government and privately owned and maintained property in relationship to public art, and the rights of artists in local and state government contracts. The panel will discuss some past and recent court cases on these issues as well as the recent 5Pointz ruling, which awarded $6.75 million to a group of graffiti artists for the white-washing and eventual demolition of their work by the building owner. While traditional artists have been successful in protecting their work in locations with the consent of the owner, street artists have struggled with the "recognized stature" - until now. The 5Pointz decision set a new precedent for artists’ moral rights -- that street art cannot be removed without the written consent or proper notice to the artists. The discussion will cover the history of public art, Percent for Art Ordinances for public and private development and some recent litigation in this area; the significance of land use laws in locating public art; the impact of public art on real estate development; and the future of protecting street art and public art in general. This program is geared towards an attorney audience, but all members of the public are welcome to attend.

M.J. Bogatin is a founding member of the San Francisco Law Firm of Bogatin, Corman & Gold. Bogatin, Corman & Gold’s practice emphasizes art, entertainment and intellectual property law, plaintiff’s employment and labor law, business law, personal injury, education code cases, and civil litigation and appeals. Since the founding of Bogatin, Corman & Gold in 1994 in San Francisco, his own practice emphasis has been Arts and Entertainment, including literary, performing, visual and multi-media transactions and he regularly handles large-scale Public Art Commissions as well as Artist Moral Rights claims.

Donald Gensler is Project Manager for the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission Art in Public Places program.  He manages restorations, ongoing projects, and new build public art projects for the City of Sacramento.  He is both an attorney and visual artist with a passion for and experience in making and managing public art projects both nationally and internationally.  Having worked as an attorney in land conservancy and site acquisition, he understands the unique land use and contract challenges involved in locating projects in public spaces.  For over twenty years he has worked as a visual artist in community arts, private, public, and non-profit public art programs in Arkansas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California, and internationally in Dublin, Ireland. He understands the challenges artists face in working with municipalities and project stakeholders.  He was an Adjunct Professor teaching a public art course in the School of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY and was a Lecturer for ten years at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design in Philadelphia, PA where he also worked with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, developing social justice centered arts programing.  He actively writes about public space, mural making, social justice, and public art.  His murals and writings on public art have been featured in the New York Times, Time Magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer and in recent publications such as Maureen O’Connell’s, If These Walls Could Talk: Community Muralism and the Beauty of Justice, Kiriakos Iosifidis’s, Mural Art: Murals on Huge Public Spaces Around the World Vol. 2, and Golden, Pomilio, and Rice’s, More Philadelphia Murals.

Sarah Conley Odenkirk is the Founder of ArtConverge and has practiced law in the area of fine art for more than 20 years. She advises clients in transactional matters related to the arts in the private and public realms. Through her years of practice, Sarah has developed a deep understanding of the field of public art and cultural policy. She uses this experience to provide strategic planning guidance through a legal lens, supporting innovative programs and the evolution of balanced and sustainable cultural ecosystems. Sarah is the author of A Surprisingly Interesting Book About Contracts for Artists and Other Creatives; and publisher of an online database and the comprehensive Resource Guide for Public Art in Private Development.

Registration for this event is through the Sacramento County Bar Association.

Please register here: https://www.sacbar.org/home/for-attorneys/event-calendar/