Public Art Installations
and Participatory Public Projects

Lauren Muney of Silhouettes By Hand creates an intimate, participatory experience as well as more expansive artistic vision.

Public and Community Engagement

Using the iconic silhouette of people, environments, or even animals, Lauren develops truly ‘public’ works which also include the opportunity for the public to take home their own “part of the art”.

Community Empathy

Participating and even viewing in a group portrait project brings together a community and also develops empathy. Since the prefrontal cortex of the human brain is activated by faces and group experiences, viewing and/or participating in Silhouettes By Hand’s public art can activate and calm a community unconsciously.

For areas which wish to connect their individual communities and neighbors, or create an unconscious kinship with the participants, Lauren’s portraits have created an excited stir since the inception of its public art projects.

Listed on the “Maryland State Arts Council Public Art Roster”

Lauren Muney, the artist of Silhouettes By Hand, has been accepted to be included in the Maryland State Arts Council’s new Public Artist Roster. The Roster is a tool for the selection and procurement of Artwork Commissions associated with capital projects at state-owned buildings and facilities. A secondary function of the Roster is that it will be published on MSAC.org  as an accessible resource for County Arts Councils and Arts organizations to access at any time. 

Questions, Ideas, Requests?

If you are interested in your own Community Engagement and/or Public Art project, please contact Lauren and add her email address to your address-book to expect a reply. What can we co-create together?

“Your Face, Your Place in History”

(Concept and copyright: Lauren Muney, 2019-2022)
Program: Public Art Across Maryland
Grantor: Maryland State Arts Council (USA)
Project location: Baltimore, Maryland USA
Indefinite permanent installation 2022-

Lauren Muney hand-cut and installed custom silhouette friezes of Baltimore City, Maryland, residents- for long term, free public display at the Peale Center, the modern incarnation of the original historic ca.1814 Peale Museum - the first building built in the United States as a museum. It is now the community museum of Baltimore.

The Peale Faces Project (click here)

“100 Lorscher Profile”

(The Lorsch Faces project)

(Concept: Claus Kropp, 2022)
Program: privately produced
Project location: Lorsch, Hessen, Germany
Project Partner: Back-und Brauhaus
Publication circulation: 500

“100 Lorscher Profile” means 100 Lorsch Profiles in German. Based on the public success of the “Peale Faces” project (above), private citizens in Lorsch, Germany organized a public art to create their own “Lorsch Faces” project with 100 residents. Although almost 200 people volunteered for the project, a lottery was held to select 100 lucky people to be the 100 residents in the project.

The theme of the project was to integrate established and new residents of the town, multi-generations or new refugees - to show the deep shared humanity of these blended cultures in this warm, UNESCO World Heritage city. While the project initially confronted preconceptions of immigrants into an established 1000-year-old town, the project also shows the timelessness of residents - residents, with ages ranging from 5 to 81, show the deep beauty in every person - no matter their age, origin, sex, or economic status.

Lauren worked with organizers and town residents in both English and German.

The final installation will be mounted for exhibition on or around the Lorsch Christmas Market, November 2022, with a limited-edition printed booklet of the project, with 104 town residents’ silhouettes. The proceeds of the booklet sales benefit a local food pantry.