Anne Pasternak has been the Executive Director of Creative Time since 1994. During her tenure, she has shepherded projects like Tribute in Light, Art in the Anchorage, 59th Minute, Vik Muniz’s Clouds and Jenny Holzer’s current program being projected tonight at NYU’s Bobst Library, For the City.*

spoke with Anne about past, present and future Creative Time projects as well as her feelings on the Freedom Center and the privatization of arts funding.

What is Creative Time?
Creative Time has been around for over 30 years. We commission and present adventurous art in the public realm, which could range from the Tribute in Light, the two beacons of light in lower Manhattan after September 11th, to a skywriting project over Manhattan to laying artist carpeting down in Grand Central for four months. It takes many forms, in many places.

What’s the difference between Creative Time and Public Art Fund?
We are sister organizations and our missions and interests are very compatible. Recently, I think it’s become less clear the distinction. In the past, Creative Time was more multidisciplinary and tended to work on emerging artistic practices. Public Art Fund has started to get into some of the same territory. They are best known for presenting large scale celebrated sculptures in landmark destinations, but they have been doing that and other things too. But in general, they tend to be more sculpture-based and we tend to be more multimedia. And some would say, and I would agree, that Creative Time is more innovative.

Click thru for the entire interview. Anne and Creative Time have been tireless promoters and funders of public art in NYC. Creative Time gave a small grant to MTAA to do our first ever web art project way back in 1997 :-)