Alexandra Benson Email & Phone Number

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

Durham, North Carolina, United States

• Manage program budget and strategy for public activations and placemaking initiatives in downtown Durham’s parks and plazas including public art, live performances, lighting installations, wayfinding, and creative.
• Spearhead planning and day-of execution for all events including the State of Downtown Durham, Partners in Progress VIP Reception, The Streetery, and Annual Holiday Tree Lighting
• Secure and manage a $100,000 award from the Google Community Grants Fund to install free public WiFi services at four open plazas and green spaces throughout downtown
• Project lead for installation of the Hayti Reconnection Sculpture and bike station infrastructure, helping bridge the divide over NC-147 and reconnect the Hayti district back to downtown’s historic Black Wall Street

Durham, North Carolina

• Provide project management and technical assistance to placemaking and public art projects with budgets up to $225,000 at various stages of development including artist selection, contracting, design, fabrication.
• Oversee the planning and development of marketing materials for 60+ placemaking and public art projects, including accessible signage, interpretive materials, and translated language
• Co-facilitate the Festivals & Special Event Request for Proposals Grant Program including RFP document development, engagement efforts, and recommendations with the review panel
• Develop an Artist Demographic Dashboard to track equity goals + equitable commission strategies
• Maintain inventory of the City's public art collection through spreadsheet databases, curation platforms and ArcGIS mapping technology

Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina Area

• Manage digital platform for student artists in Winston-Salem including the creation of online portfolios, artwork promotion, and facilitation of panel discussions and workshops
• Curation of “Femininity in the Raw”, a gallery showcase centering female BIPOC+ artists funded by the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County

Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina Area

• Photograph, document, and pinpoint the location of local murals, monuments, and 3D art to compile the first cloud-based catalog of public artwork in Winston-Salem

Washington D.C. Metro Area

• Facilitate conversations, transcribe interviews, and pull best strategies to generate six case studies for the Cyclical Mentorship in Arts Education Leadership series published on ArtsU
• Developed a secondary-source white paper exploring cultural competency within creative placemaking work for the organization’s use

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Master Of Public Administration - Mpa

Activities and Societies: Graduate Association for Public Administration (GAPA) Board Member (2020-2021)

Bachelor’S Degree, Arts Management And Communication