STARTING A PROGRAM :: FINANCIAL & STRUCTURAL MODELS :: GOVERNMENT BASED FUNDING MODELS

The way that a government structures its public art program can determine, in large part, the kind of art that results. A funding source can be written so narrowly as to prescribe what kind of artwork can be created, or so broadly that it can include a variety of media and methods of selection. The following provides an overview of several public art programs, and includes a summary of each program's key elements.

Seattle
Kent
San Diego
Portland, Oregon
Los Angeles, California

City of Seattle

The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs is an agency of the City of Seattle and was established in 1971 to increase public awareness of and support for the arts. The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs's Public Art Program was established by municipal ordinance in 1973 and specifies that one percent of City capital improvement project funds be set aside for the commission, purchase and installation of artworks.

There are two key elements in Seattle's percent for art program which make it unique. First, the "percent for art" designated from City construction is deposited in a Municipal Art Fund and administered by the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs rather than the City department. Percent for Art funds can be "pooled" from one project to another and even from one fund source to another and they do not have to be spent on the project from which they originate. Second, the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs is responsible for decisions regarding the purchase and commissioning of art, without political interference. The Arts Commission employs artist-selection processes which involve both arts professionals and stakeholders in artistic decision-making, and neither City Council nor the Mayor interfere with aesthetic decisions made by the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.

Both of these factors are essential to maintaining a healthy public art program. The ability to "pool" funds has enabled the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs to build a very diverse public art program ranging from temporary installations, to a collection which is like a museum without walls, to large scale sculpture and site-integrated artworks. The political support for our program has allowed us to build a collection which people consider to be their entitlement. This manifests itself in the many requests we receive from community activists to include art and artists in new projects the City builds.

City of Kent

In many smaller cities one percent for art does not yield enough funds to create a reasonable public art program. The City of Kent, Washington, resourcefully tackled this issue by creating a designated an annual two dollar per capital set-aside in their General Fund budget to create public art. This money is placed in a City Art Fund to be used for commissioning and acquiring art for public display. Unlike most General Fund sources, the City Art Fund can be carried over from year to year and pooled to create larger projects. As the City grows, the annual amount of funding grows, too. And because funding is not tied to construction, the Arts Commission has the freedom to distribute these funds broadly.

San Diego

In 1992, the City of San Diego initiated a   public art program which, while tied to construction, demanded an incredible act of faith. Rather than designating a specific percentage set-aside for the creation of public art, the City Council created a policy which involves artists in the design of capital improvement projects to "address a commitment to excellence in the design of San Diego's built environment." This program has been embraced by city departments which have included artists in the their capital improvement programs regularly since the creation of this policy. Today, the program boasts over 40 active projects of all varieties and scales. In addition to this funding mechanism, the City of San Diego devotes Transient Occupancy Tax funds annually for special public art projects.

Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland, Oregon

Another unusual model of public art funding can be found in Portland where an agency which was initially part of municipal government split off to become a public-private partnership. Today the   Regional Arts and Culture Council administers public art programs for the City as well as Clackamas, Washington and Multnomah Counties and Metro as well as private non-profit entities including the Doernbecher Children's Hospital. The program is entrepreneurial and has resulted in a remarkable variety of projects, including a remarkable public art program for Tri-Met, the regional transit system.

Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency

Redevelopment agencies have been around for many years and many states have the ability to create tax increment financing. However, in 1992, the   Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency initiated a unique program to require developers to include arts and culture in their redevelopment projects to fund the cultural enhancement of their communities. Initially applied only to development in downtown Los Angeles, the public art program now includes all of the city's redevelopment areas. It encompasses developer-initiated projects, CRA-initiated projects, and special projects created through a unique Cultural Trust Fund. This program has resulted in an impressive number of physical artworks, cultural programming and the construction of cultural facilities throughout Los Angeles' redevelopment areas.