Civic Infrastructure for Aesthetic Justice: What Public Art Makes Possible

This is a recording of a panel discussion moderated by Danielle Amodeo (Arts Equity Group) with panelists Lori Lobenstine (DS4SI), Kim Szeto (New England Foundation for the Arts), and Jason Montgomery (Attack Bear Press, 50 Arrow Gallery) at MASSCreative's 2026 Creative Sector Summit in New Bedford. This panel explored what's meant by talking about art as public infrastructure and how it holds communities together, makes justice legible, and expands our collective imagination of what public life could become. This conversation brought together practitioners across creative, funding, and organizing landscapes to explore "aesthetic justice"- the idea that all people have a right not just to survive, but to inhabit spaces that affirm their dignity, reflect their cultures, and activate their imaginations. Thumbnail image by Ethan de Aguiar.