gerald earl allen

Jerry Allen
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1946-2025


The creative world has lost a pioneer in the establishment of the fields of public art and the local arts agency movement in America.

Gerald Earl Allen, known to all as Jerry, died September 14, 2025, in San Francisco after a short illness. During a 50-year career working on behalf of artists and communities throughout the U.S., Jerry spearheaded major cultural and public art plans in Seattle, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, San Antonio, Fort Lauderdale, Charlotte, Denver, Los Angeles, Oakland, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Reno, Salt Lake City, San Diego and many other cities. During his time in Texas in the 1980s, he created the first public art master plan in the country, a model that is now commonplace.

In Seattle, he conceived and administered the acclaimed multi-year project EARTHWORKS: LAND RECLAMATION AS SCULPTURE in the late 1970s. Allen's lifelong support of artists was grounded in personal experience, with a deep understanding of the challenges to public acceptance of art. His 1985 monograph How Art Becomes Public advanced the concept that each work of public art is not simply placed before a pre-existing public, but rather the art helps create its own public by shaping how people gather, interact and experience the entire space. He believed that public art, like jazz, is a unique genre, a concept that is still unfolding.

Born in Bremerton, Washington in 1946, Jerry began his career as a studio artist in Seattle, constructing his own bronze foundry and completing his graduate studies in art and public administration at the University of Washington. He started his public service as the Visual Arts Coordinator for the King County Arts Commission (Seattle) followed by his promotion to Executive Director. Next, he headed the Cultural Affairs division for the City of Dallas, Texas. In 1989, he became Director of the new Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, taking this complex of three galleries, a theater and large urban outdoor space from design stage to its opening. He then became the Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs in San Jose, CA before founding the consulting firm of Jerry Allen and Associates which merged with the Cultural Planning Group in 2010.

Jerry served for two decades on the Board of Directors for Americans for the Arts, where he spearheaded the creation of the Yankee and Laurel Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities. He was a member of the national advisory board for Forecast, publishers of the Public Art Review and served on scores of art selection panels such as the National Endowment for the Arts.

Those who knew him well will remember Jerry for his sly, wicked humor and his voracious reading habit. Finishing a book every two days, his curiosity ranged from science, political history and law, to dogs and gardening. An independent thinker, he prized public service, displaying deep pathos for the underdog while playing the role of curmudgeon.

Jerry leaves his wife of forty years, Ann Dabovich, and his adored daughter Emily Allen and son-in-law Jordan Pailthorpe. The family will hold a remembrance event in the new year. Please contact Jerry@culturalplanning.com to receive information.

Donations to honor the memory of Jerry Allen may be made to the Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities at Americans for the Arts; your favorite swing state democratic candidate; or a local animal shelter.

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