public art toolkit

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Creative City Network of Canada


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Published 2010

Creative City Network of Canada and the authors

Layout and Design: John McLachlan

The Creative City Network of Canada/Reseau des ville duCanada (CCNC) is a national non-proft organization thatoperates as a knowledge-sharing, research, public education,and proessional development resource in the feld o localcultural policy, planning and practice.

Through its work, the Creative City Network helps build thecapacity o local cultural planning proessionalsand by

extension local governmentsto nurture and support culturaldevelopment in their communities.

By doing so, the Creative City Network aims to improve theoperating climate and conditions or artists and arts andcultural organizations across the country, and the quality olie in Canadian communities o all sizes.

The members o the Creative City Network are localgovernments across Canada.

For more information, contact

Creative City Network of Canada

#415 402 West Pender Street

Vancouver, BC, V6B 1T6 Canada

[email protected] creativecity.ca

604-688-2489

The Public Art Toolkit is

a project of the Creative

City Network of Canada

and has been generously

supported by

Cover Image: Matsuoka, Satoshi & Tamura, Yuki, Balloons Caught, 2005

(Photo: Gavin Mackenzie)
mailto:[email protected]://www.creativecity.ca/http://www.creativecity.ca/mailto:[email protected]://www.creativecity.ca/


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Author Biographies

BARBARA COLE

Barbara Cole is an artist,independent curator, educator,project manager, and curatorialconsultant in public art. As thePrincipal o Cole Projects, she hasdeveloped and overseen curatoriallyrigourous artist selection processes,assisted artists through all phaseso their artwork production anddesigned innovative public artplans or government agencies,private development clients andnon-proft societies. In recent years,she has specialized in developingrameworks to support changingprograms o public art including theSouth Hill Public Art Programaseries o projects implementedthrough a network o partnershipswith community organizations,local businesses and learning

institutions; and initiatives like theLangara College Centre or Art inPublic Spaces; the East Fraserlandsproposal or a Centre or Public Artand Artist Residency; and the VPLArt in the Library Program andAperture Project. She is the ounderand Executive Director o OtherSights or Artists Projects, a non-proft society that seeks to create apresence or art in highly visible sitesthat are accessible to a broad public.

Curatorial projects include MarbleInrastructure Project by CameronKerr (2006), Vox Pop by AntoniaHirsch (2008) and a post-Olympicseries with T&T, Koebberling &Kaltwasser, and the Bomords.

LORNA BROWN

Lorna Brown is a Vancouver-basedartist, writer and curator and hastaught at Emily Carr University oArt and Design and Simon FraserUniversity. Brown was the curatoroGroup Search: art in the library,the inaugural project o the Artin the Library program at theVancouver Public Library rom 2006to 2008. In 2008 to Spring 2009,Brown led the development o theLangara College Centre or Art inPublic Spaces in Vancouver, andmanaged the frst Artist-in-residenceprogram eaturing Kristina LeePodesvas Vehicle project as wellas a Speakers Series. Brown wasthe Editor and Project Manager orthe digital archiveRuins in Process:Vancouver Art in the Sixties,www.vancouverartinthesixties.com which

archives over 1,000 images, flms,and documents as well as essaysand video interviews. Her workhas been exhibited at PresentationHouse Gallery, North Vancouver;Canadian Museum o ContemporaryPhotography, Ottawa, Dazibao,Montreal, the Contemporary ArtGallery, Vancouver, the KoernerLibrary, University o BritishColumbia as well as internationalvenues such as the Fine Arts

Museum, Taipei.

KAREN HENRY

Karen Henry is an independentcurator and has worked as apublic art consultant since 1998,developing art plans, managingselection processes and productiono artworks or local governmentsand private corporations. She alsoincludes public projects as part oher curatorial practice. She servedon the Public Art Committee inVancouver rom 1993 1996. In2003 she worked with Grosvenor toselect artist Liz Magor or a majorcommission in Coal Harbour and in2006 she produced the Carrall StreetGreenway Art Plan or the City oVancouver. Recent projects includean ongoing artists banner projectwith the Vancouver Public Libraryand the commission and installationo a work by Coast Salish artist Susan

Point or Stanley Park in Vancouver(2008). She was project managerwith the team o Cole BrownHenry to develop opportunitiesand selection or artworks at theRichmond Oval (2008-09). Sheis currently working with ViaPartnership (St. Louis) to assistin commissioning artist-lnitiatedprojects or 2010 in Vancouver andmanaging the artists call or theVancouver Olympic and Vancouver

Paralympic Centre in Hillcrest Park.
http://www.vancouverartinthesixties.com/http://www.vancouverartinthesixties.com/http://www.vancouverartinthesixties.com/http://www.vancouverartinthesixties.com/


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Creative City Network o Canada Public Art Toolkit 1

Introduction ................................................................................................... 4

1WHAT ...............................................................................................................5Denitions o public art

Points o View:The Artist

The Agency

The Publics

Further Reading in Print

Online Resources

2 WHY ................................................................................................................ 9Points o View:The ArtistFormTechniqueLocationAudienceCreative ChallengeThe AgencyThe PublicsExcellencePoints o View:The Artist

The AgencyThe PublicsCase Study: Yellow Fence, Erica Stocking, UniverCity, 2009

3 WHEN ...........................................................................................................13Artists Call PhasePoints o View:The ArtistThe AgencyContracting PhasePoints o View:The ArtistThe AgencyConcept Proposal Phase

Points o View:The ArtistThe AgencyDetailed Design PhasePoints o View:The ArtistThe AgencyFabrication and Installation PhasePoints o View:The ArtistThe AgencyPublic Relations

Table of Contents

Click on

a chapter

heading to

go to that

chapter


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Points o ViewThe ArtistThe AgencyEvaluation PhasePoints o View:The ArtistThe AgencyThe PublicsPublic Relations: In ContextCase Study: People Amongst the People, Susan Point, 2008Case Study: Laneway Commissions, Melbourne, On-goingSelection Process Checklist

4 WHERE........................................................................................................18The Specics o SitePlatorm-based ProjectsExpanded SitesPoints o View:The ArtistThe AgencyThe Publics

5 HOW The Mission.................................................................................22Operating Principles

6 HOW Funding and Partnerships....................................................24Private Development Percent or Art ProgramsCivic Capital ProjectsPartnerships with Other DepartmentsPartnerships with Local BusinessesPartnerships with Transit and Pedestrian ProjectsPartnerships with Arts and Cultural OrganizationsArtist-led ProjectsPartnerships with Industry or Academic ResearchCase Study: Yellow Fence, Erica Stocking, UniverCity, 2009Case Study: People Amongst the People. Susan Point, 2008

7 HOW Acting on the Mission............................................................ 30Program FocusFunding and PartnershipsRoles and ExpertiseArms-Length Peer ReviewAcceptance o ProposalsMaintenance o the CollectionDonationsEducation and DevelopmentWorking BackwardWorking ForwardResources

8 HOW Points o View on the Mission ............................................35The ArtistThe AgencyThe Publics

9 HOW The Art Plan ...............................................................................36The Master PlanThe Art PlanPoints o View:The ArtistThe AgencyThe PublicsCase Study: Yellow Fence, Erica Stocking, UniverCity, 2009


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10HOW Art Opportunity and Selection ........................................38Art OpportunitySelectionThe Terms o ReerenceSelection MethodsAn Open CompetitionA Limited or Invitation CallDirect Selection

Peer Selection PanelsPoints o View:The ArtistThe AgencyThe PublicsCase Study: Yellow Fence, Erica Stocking, UniverCity, 2009Case Study: People Amongst the People, Susan Point, Stanley Park, 2008

11 HOW The Contract..............................................................................43Concept ProposalDetailed DesignFabrication and InstallationSome Notes about the Maintenance Manual and DocumentationIntellectual Property RightsCopyrightMoral RightsReerencesPoints o View:The ArtistThe Agency

12 HOWConcept Proposal, Detailed Designand Fabrication & Installation ...........................................47

Concept ProposalDetailed DesignFabrication & InstallationPoints o View:The Artist

The AgencyThe PublicsCase Study: Laneway Commissions, Melbourne, On-going

13 HOWMaintaining the Collection ................................................49DocumentationMaintenanceDe-accessioningPoints o View:The ArtistThe AgencyThe Publics

14 HOW Animating the Collection... ................................................51

The ArtistThe AgencyThe Public

WHO................................................................................................................. 54

BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................... 56

Case Study:Laneway Commissions, Melbourne, On-going.........................60

Case Study:People Amongst the People, Susan Point, Stanley Park, 2008.....63

Case Study:Yellow Fence, Erica Stocking, UniverCity, 2009 ................... 65


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Introduction

Welcome to this pub-

lic art management

resource or Creative

City Network o Canada members.

Tis oolkit is intended as a guide

when planning a public art Program

or evaluating an existing one, and

contains urther resources or the

management o public art projects

as well. Te material is organized in

a series o chapters much like the

Ws o news reporting What, Why,

When, and How.

I you are just getting started, we

have included inormation about de-

veloping a Program mission, operat-ing principles and policies; i you are

urther along in managing public art,

we have included details about selec-

tion processes, contracting, and the

other important phases o complet-

ing a public art project.

Troughout the oolkit, we have

included links to examples and

resources rom around the world,

that you may nd useul in building

support or public art within your

agency, crating a Program or proj-

ect, and deepening its impact in your

community.

Our approach is to characterize

the process as a series o dynamic

relationships o production and

reception involving dierent Points

o View: the artist, the commission-

ing agency, and thepublics who

encounter the artwork. Tere are

many individuals involved along

the way including local community

members, developers, architects,

sta, engineers, curators and other

art proessionals.

Our hope is that this toolkit will

inspire and assist in achieving excel-

lence in all areas o your work, regard-

less o the scale o the projectin theartwork itsel and the ways in which it

is selected, produced and presented.

We have provided detailed Case

Studies that we consider to represent

good practices and have indicated

How they relate to our guidelines.

Examples vary rom small to large

projectsexcellence is not a actor

o budget. Tese projects, and the

agencies presenting them, respond

to both the problems and the po-

tential inherent in public spaces;

they are exible, nimble, creative

and rigourous in how the work is

planned and implemented and this

is reected in the resulting artwork.

Te toolkit inormation is linked

internally and externally and meant

to be used interactively according to

your own priorities. erms like art-

ist, agency, developer and so orth

are linked to the Who section that

describes the roles o the many indi-

viduals necessary to bring a work o

art to completion. Other terms may

be ound in a glossary o denitions

that stem rom the worlds o con-

temporary art, engineering, architec-

ture and the diverse disciplines that

converge in public art projects.

We wish to thank the Creative City

Network o Canada or the oppor-

tunity, the sta in Vancouver who

acilitated and assisted the process,

associates who provided eedback,

and the artists who inspire our work.

CBH Consultants

Barbara Cole

Lorna Brown

Karen Henry


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What1Providing a denition o public art is a tricky task.Art, as a developingpractice, continually challenges and rewrites its own denitionthrough itsmaterials, and methods and the value it places on innovation and change.Similarly,public is a shity term, its denition outpaced by the creation o spaces

such as the internet, or changing notions o ownership o air space, airwaves,

easements and commons. Writer and public art critic Patricia Phillips denes the

idea o public space as a creative commons in the classic sense o the worda space

or debate and multiple voices, that stimulates democratic process, transition and

change.

For our purposes, the best denitions o public art rely upon verbs rather than

nouns, and ocus upon activities rather than objects. We have included a number o

diverse examples that can be used as reerences in helping you introduce the scope

o public art practice within your agency.

Public art can be more than amenity,entertainment, or ornamentation. Itcan be a very energetic investigation.Public art is not a discipline or pro-ession. It is an idea and way o think-ing about art. What makes it public

is that it is situated at the congestedcrossroads o aesthetics, public lie,cultural ideas, and political issues. Itis an art which is absolutely engaged

with the world and this engagementoten invokes spirited disagreement

Absolute consensus is not necessar-ily a happy state. A public art thatexcites the imaginative potential omany unique individuals in a varietyo dierent ways, is, albeit, a little bitunruly. But a less cautious, less con-

strained strategy may lead to the bestin public art, as it has in all art.

Phillips, Patricia C. quoted in Korza, Pam.

Evaluating Artistic Quality in the Public

Realm. On View: Journal of Public Art and

Design, Spring/Summer (1990)

Public art is art when it encouragesand expedites connections betweenthe private and public, the intimateplace and the municipal space, the

body and the community. Tereare moments o reection when animage, or sound, or space allowsindividuals to embody, in a uniqueand oten specic way, the vast and

various issues o public lie.

Phillips, Patricia C. Public Art: A Renew-

able Resource. In Urban Futures: Critical

Commentaries on Shaping the City, edited

by Tim Hall and Malcolm Miles, 131. New

York: Routledge, 2003.

Nicolson, Marianne, Pictograph, 1998

The artist scaled a vertical rock ace in Kingcome Inlet to paint a massive pictograph to mark

the continued vitality o her ancestral village o Gwayi. Photo: Judith Williams


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I used to like the phrase art in thepublic sphere to describe whatpublic art could be. As catchphrasesgo its out o ashion now but still

valid. By it I understand that itsupports practice, meaning: its

whatever you do as an artist, justplaced in a more public context. My

avourite public art connects directlyto the dierently public world o thegallery or museum, never dumbingdown the work just because it hassome dierent notion o a greateraudience to negotiate.

Alan Phelan, artist, writer and curator.

Arts Council o Ireland and the Depart-

ment o Arts, Sports and Tourism, Public

Art Denitions, Arts Council o Ireland

and the Department o Arts, Sports and

Tourism

www.publicart.ie/main/critical-contexts/

denitions/alan-phelan

Public art is a part o our publichistory, part o our evolving cul-

ture and our collective memory.It reects and reveals our societyand adds meaning to our cities. Asartists respond to our times, theyreect their inner vision to theoutside world, and they create achronicle o our public experience.

Adapted rom Balkin Bach,Penny. Public

Art in Philadelphia. Philadelphia: Temple

University Press, Philadelphia, 1992.

Twilight Reading at

Yorkshire Sculpture Park by

poet Simon Armitage

YSP Visiting Artist 2007Marking YSPs 30th anniver-

sary, poet and 2007 visit-

ing artist, Simon Armitage,

delivered ve extraordinary

twilight readings in a variety

o YSP settings. The venues,

both in and out o doors,

included buildings within the

Park and artworks by Andy

Goldsworthy and James

Turrell.

www.ysp.co.uk/view.

aspx?id=473

Photo: Jonty Wilde

Working in the area o public art, we oten encounter opinions that dene it in alto-

gether dierent terms, artully summarized in thisAndy Rooney clip.

Andys spirited disagreement with certain artworksand contemporary art itsel

is an impassioned engagement with public space and why (and or whom) it is there.

Matsuoka, Satoshi & Tamura, Yuki, Balloons Caught, 2005FrontierSpace called or innovative proposals to transorm a laneway in Gastown, Vancouver,

into a viable public space. The winning entry, Balloons Caught, was installed in Trounce Alley

or three days and drew thousands o visitors. www.urbanrepublic.ca/rontier.htm

Photos: Gavin Mackenzie

Cardif, Janet, The Missing Voice (Case

Study B), 1999

Commissioned and produced by Artangel.

An audio walk or Londons inner city, the

work lasts 50 minutes, tracing a route

through Spitalelds and towards the City

o London.

www.artangel.org.uk

Photo by Gerrie Van Noord
http://www.publicart.ie/main/critical-contexts/definitions/alan-phelan/http://www.publicart.ie/main/critical-contexts/definitions/alan-phelan/http://www.ysp.co.uk/view.aspx?id=473http://www.ysp.co.uk/view.aspx?id=473http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDlLh0jcJVYhttp://www.urbanrepublic.ca/frontier.htmhttp://www.artangel.org.uk/http://www.artangel.org.uk/http://www.urbanrepublic.ca/frontier.htmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDlLh0jcJVYhttp://www.ysp.co.uk/view.aspx?id=473http://www.ysp.co.uk/view.aspx?id=473http://www.publicart.ie/main/critical-contexts/definitions/alan-phelan/http://www.publicart.ie/main/critical-contexts/definitions/alan-phelan/


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POINTS OF VIEW

Public art is dened dierently even by the people who come together to make it

happen:

THE ARTIST

Public art is an opportunity to actively investigate these congested crossroads as a

creative individual, with a permanent or temporary gesture, intervention or state-

ment; to work on a grand scale and in relation to multiple audiences.

THE AGENCY

Public art is a way o connecting the imaginative potential o artists and the lived

experience o our shared environment: to acilitate a dynamic cultural lie.

THE PUBLICS

Public art is an occasion to engage with a unique creative orm and reect on the

circumstances, reedoms and constraints, o the spaces we deem public.

Public art is not the grinding, arduousdiscovery o a common denominatorthat absolutely everyone will under-stand and endorse. It actually assistsin identication o individuals andgroups and what separates them, so

that agreement on a common purposeis an impassioned deliberation ratherthan a thoughtless resignation.

Phillips, Patricia C. Public Constructions In

Mapping the Terrain; New Genre Public Art,

edited by Suzanne Lacy, 69. Seattle: Bay

Press, 1995.

[murmur], Toronto and 11 other cities worldwide, 2003-present

A locative media project that records 1st-person stories and memories related to specic geo-graphic locations. At each storied spot a [murmur] street sign is mounted, indicating a tele-

phone number people can call by mobile phone to hear stories related to that place. Stories,

story maps and location photos or each collection are also available online.

http://murmurtoronto.ca

Images courtesy o [murmur]. Maps: Marlena Zuber. http://marlenazuber.com

Pinsky, Michael, Horror Vacui, 2007

A database o Portugese tile motis is used to create a puzzle, mutating the diverse repeating

patterns. 100 individuals rom across the globe converged in Torres Vedras, Portugal to con-

struct the oor. www.michaelpinsky.com Photos: Courtesy o artist.
http://murmurtoronto.ca/http://marlenazuber.com/http://www.michaelpinsky.com/http://www.michaelpinsky.com/http://marlenazuber.com/http://murmurtoronto.ca/


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Deller, Jeremy, New Commissions: It Is

What It Is: Conversations About Iraq,

2009. Installation view, New Museum,

New York.Over a six-week period at the New

Museum in New York, British artist Jeremy

Deller invited journalists, Iraqi reugees,

soldiers, and scholars to share their

memories o the last decade in and out

o Iraq. Their one-on-one conversations

elucidate the present circumstances in Iraq

rom many points o view. In March 2009,

It Is What It Is: Conversations About Iraq

travelled rom New York to Caliornia, with

conversations conducted at more than

ten public sites along the way. SergeantJonathan Harvey, an American veteran

o the Iraq War, Esam Pasha, an Iraqi

citizen, and Deller were aboard a specially

outtted RV, along with Nato Thompson,

Creative Time Curator, who documented

the journey. www.conversationsaboutiraq.

org/description.php

Photo: Benoit Pailley

FURTHER READING IN PRINT

Finkelpearl, om; Acconci, Vito; Ahearn, John; et al.Dialogues in Public Art. London

MI Press, 2000.

Goldstein, Barbara.Public Art by the Book. Seattle: University o Washington Press,

2005.

Phillips, Patricia C., Points o Departure: Public Arts Intentions, Indignities, and

Interventions, Sculpture Magazine, March 1998, Vol. 17, No. 3

www.sculpture.org/documents/scmag/phllps/sm-phlps.shtml

ONLINE RESOURCES

Fairmount Park Art Association, What is Public Art?

www.paa.org/what_is_pa.html

Hunting, Daniel, Students o Public Aairs Network, Public Art Policy:

Examining an Emerging Discipline Students o Public Aairs Network

www.asu.edu/mpa/Hunting_PublicArt.pd

Phillips, Patricia C. Forecast Public Art, Dynamic Exchange, Public Art At Tisime, Forecast Public Art

www.orecastpublicart.org/anthology-downloads/phillips.pd

Phillips, Patricia C., Forecast Public Art, Everybodys Art, Long-term Supporters o

emporary Public Art, Forecast Public Art

www.orecastpublicart.org/anthology-downloads/phillips.pd

Public Art Online

www.publicartonline.org.uk/casestudies/

Case Studies

Public Art Online has extensive case studies including sections on design teamcollaboration, lighting, regeneration, environmental, temporary projects, etc. Most

case study projects have initial documents, sample policies, planning, mainte-

nance, public relations, education and more. A ew examples are:

Broward Lighting Project, Florida, includes maintenance planning sheet, poli-

cies on artists rights, outreach, and local artists

Luci diartista, urin includes reerence to working with a theatre company to

manage production and installation

Making Waves: public consultation and marketing strategy

Quarry : partnerships, temporary projects, public reactions, artist-initiated

projects

RSA Arts and Ecology

Public art and environmental projects www.rsaartsandecology.org.uk

Urban Screens

Electronic projects www.urbanscreens.org
http://www.conversationsaboutiraq.org/description.phphttp://www.conversationsaboutiraq.org/description.phphttp://www.sculpture.org/documents/scmag98/phllps/sm-phlps.shtmlhttp://www.fpaa.org/what_is_pa.htmlhttp://www.asu.edu/mpa/Hunting_Public%20Art.pdfhttp:///reader/full/www.forecastpublicart.org/anthology-downloads/phillips2.pdfhttp://www.forecastpublicart.org/anthology-downloads/phillips.pdfhttp://www.publicartonline.org.uk/casestudies/http://www.rsaartsandecology.org.uk/http://www.urbanscreens.org/http://www.urbanscreens.org/http://www.rsaartsandecology.org.uk/http://www.publicartonline.org.uk/casestudies/http://www.forecastpublicart.org/anthology-downloads/phillips.pdfhttp:///reader/full/www.forecastpublicart.org/anthology-downloads/phillips2.pdfhttp://www.asu.edu/mpa/Hunting_Public%20Art.pdfhttp://www.fpaa.org/what_is_pa.htmlhttp://www.sculpture.org/documents/scmag98/phllps/sm-phlps.shtmlhttp://www.conversationsaboutiraq.org/description.phphttp://www.conversationsaboutiraq.org/description.php


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Why2 Public Art, like any other cultural activity, requires that the agencies chargedwith its support consider it to be intrinsically valuable to the communitiesin which it happens. A number o resources are available to support us inmaking the case or art as an important part o our public lie:

Creative City Network o Canada, oolkit: Making the Casecreativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=&Itemid=

Creative City Network o Canada, oolkit: Cultural Planning

creativecity.ca/english/component/docman/doc_download/-cultural-planning-

toolkit

While art activities that take place in cultural institutions have a well-established

history to draw upon, public art relates to dierent political and social histories and

a broader set o overlapping interests. Its helpul to consider the dierent motiva-

tions and viewpoints that are brought to a public art project:

POINTS OF VIEWPublic art is dened dierently even by the people who come together to make it

happen:

THE ARTIST

Artists are motivated by a number o actors to create work or public spaces. Tey

are trained to consider general and specialist audiences, and to think about public

spaces in literal, gurative and speculative ways.

Form and Material:

Teir practice may be based on responding to the architecture or the social condi-

tions o a site, or involve a material, such as bronze, that has a history o exterior

use, and suggests a permanent or exterior location.

echnique:

Teir work may use techniques such as video or texts that relate to advertising or

signage, and communicate well in relation to the street.

Location:

Artists may be compelled to respond to a particular site or personal or aesthetic

reasons and respond to its potential or an intervention through a permanent or

temporary artwork.

Nauman, Bruce, Vices and Virtues, 1988

Proposal drawing, Stuart Collection

University o Caliornia San Diego

Placed above a laboratory where en-

gineers erect and then stress parts o

buildings to test their resistance to earth-

quakes, this cataclysmic list o moral op-

posites, created long ago, takes on special

signicance and dramatizes the instability

o any ethical judgment.

stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/StuartCollec-

tion/Nauman.htm
http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=235&Itemid=205http://creativecity.ca/english/component/docman/doc_download/76-cultural-planning-toolkithttp://creativecity.ca/english/component/docman/doc_download/76-cultural-planning-toolkithttp://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/StuartCollection/Nauman.htmhttp://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/StuartCollection/Nauman.htmhttp://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/StuartCollection/Nauman.htmhttp://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/StuartCollection/Nauman.htmhttp://creativecity.ca/english/component/docman/doc_download/76-cultural-planning-toolkithttp://creativecity.ca/english/component/docman/doc_download/76-cultural-planning-toolkithttp://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=235&Itemid=205


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Video: Allora & Calzadilla, Chalkwww.youtube.com/watch?v=eHEuA_BGk

Audience:

Te ideas that some artists investigate may translate well to audiences outside the gal-

lery and suggest a broader viewership. Specic audiences that requent particular sitesmay inspire an artistic strategy and be seen as a unique opportunity or exploration.

Creative Challenges:

While it may be assumed that artists are interested in public art opportunities in

order to have a larger prole or or nancial gain, the creative challenges o audi-

ence, location, scale and orm are more likely to motivate an artist to take on the

complex and oten difcult process o making work or public space.

THE AGENCY

In considering the Why o public art, agencies have garnered a substantial cata-

logue o benets and enhancements to their communities. Contributing resourcesto a Public Art Program:

encourages engagement with the city

enhances our relationship to the spaces we share

develops the special identity and character o neighbourhoods

tells the story o people, places and events

highlights and plays on social, political or historical themes

oers engaging alternatives or the commemoration o individuals, groups or

events

Pipilotti, Rist, Open My Glade, 2000

Vancouver installation, 2009, Other Sights or Artists Projects Photo: Colin Griths
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5HE5uA_BGkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5HE5uA_BGk


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Millennium Park Opening Weekend July 2004

Millennium Park is an award-winning center or art, music, architecture and landscape

design. The result o a unique partnership between the City o Chicago and the philanthropic

community, the 24.5-acre park eatures the work o world-renowned architects, planners,

artists and designers. Anish Kapoors hugely popular Cloud Gate sculpture is located on the

AT&T Plaza. www.millenniumpark.org/artandarchitecture

Photo credit: Peter Schulz

Te qualitative arguments that ar-ticulate how art in the city improvesour quality o lie and creates spiri-tual, emotional, and intellectual well-being are sharing the stage with thekinds o reasoned, quantitative argu-ments more commonly used in thesphere o public sector management.Claims about public arts abilitiesto: revitalize and renew neighbour-hoods in decline; play a leading rolein attracting cultural tourism; attracthigh-level workers; incubate com-mercial technology and innovation;

build community identity and pride;address specic challenges acingcommunities in need; and engage cit-izens on the margins who have beendifcult to reach, especially youth,are getting the attention o both pub-lic and private sector unders. One othe benets to making these kinds oclaims is it allows us access to otherbudgets earmarked or social andurban policy.

Te danger o using them toomuch, is that we can lose sight o

what is central to cultural value.Te generative seed o culturalactivity should not be overlookedor overshadowed by the second-ary arguments that use the socialand economic benets o art as thehigh card in the deck. Tis dialecticbetween artists, stakeholders, andunders about the unction and valueo artistic production is yet anothertest o maturity or Canadas culturalcommunity.

Cole, Barbara, Canadian Report: PublicArt in VancouverRevista do Instituto Arte

das Americas 3, no. 1,(2006): 15 30.

THE PUBLICS

For individuals, publics and communities that are invested in their public spaces, anew work o art stimulates discussion and evokes every response imaginablerom

indierence to delight to antagonism. Te presence o an artwork changes public

space and this change may be seen as intrusive or the expression o private opin-

ions or interests. Responses to public art are oten responses to changeto a amil-

iar park, public square or streetscapewhether positive or negative. Over time, the

artwork becomes part o where it is placed and contributes to the unique identity o

its location. As Public Art Programs expand over time, and the number o artworks

grow, expectations or a complex and engaging public realm advance and develop.

addresses ideas o sustainability and environmental awareness in unique ways

results in landmark ocal points and destination places

attracts visitors to the city

instigates creative planning and design objectives when developing plazas,

parks and open spaces, and streetscape elements

stimulates the public and private economy through job creation or arts-related

proessionals, engineers, architects, landscape architects, abricators, construc-tion workers, equipment operators and labourers

While all o these rationales can be used to advocate or public art, they stem rom

a belie that art is a valued activity, and demonstrate a willingness on the part o the

agency to see culture as a vital part o urban lie, to be open to experimentation and

to commit adequate resources to a successul Program.
http://www.millenniumpark.org/artandarchitecture/http://www.millenniumpark.org/artandarchitecture/


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Miller, Bernie & Tregebov, Alan,Street Light,1997The subject o controversy around blocking

views and light when it was installed prior

to the development build-out, the Street

Light now ts into the urban landscape o

Vancouvers False Creek.

Bringing these Points o View to the

planning process allows us to evaluate

the areas in which they overlap, intersect

and diverge, and identiy the potential or

both cooperation and conict.

Excellence

Excellence is a key value in the eld o art, and it is worthwhile to consider how it

may be viewed rom dierent points o view.

POINTS OF VIEW

THE ARTIST

For artists, excellence is a value that is key to their training, to their recognition asartists, and to the language o their proession. Artists are amiliar with positive and

negative responses to their work and learn, as part o their training, to deend their

work in relation to excellence. Artists respond to excellence as part o the criteria

or selection, and look or it in the Program as a whole.

THE AGENCY

For agencies that commission artworks, artistic excellence can be supported with

processes and methods that place the same value upon excellence: best practices

in the selection, production and interpretation o the artwork. Tese best practices

relate to the standards developed in the network o cultural organizations and

proessionals locally, nationally and internationally. Public art is part o a largerconversation, nurtured by cultural institutions such as museums, galleries, librar-

ies, universities, by organizations such as artist-run centres, perorming arts com-

panies, publishing houses, and by the many individuals who contribute as artists,

curators, consultants and volunteers. Producing and presenting art in public works

best when connecting with this broader eld o institutions, organizations and

individuals in your community to create a respectul and resilient web o mutual

support. Keeping in touch with this network will result in opportunities to gain

advice, build support or a program or project, improve its impact, and enrich your

Program through partnerships.

THE PUBLICS

Members o the public value creative excellence in art, music, books, perormance,

design, ashion and media that they consume. Public opinions about what is excel-

lent also reect the divergent denitions o the term is it universal and timeless

or dened dierently by dierent cultures; new and cutting edge or recognized

only in retrospect? Tese necessarily unresolved questions are an excellent oppor-

tunity or healthy discussion and debate.

See videoEchelman, Janet, She Changes, 2005, Waterront plaza, Porto and Matosinhos, Por-

tugal

Case Study: Yellow Fence, Erica Stocking, UniverCity, 2009

Point o View: Te Agency
http://www.echelman.com/site/portugal_project.htmlhttp://www.echelman.com/site/portugal_project.html


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When3

An average public artwork takes two

years rom the contracting stage.

Americans or the Arts, Public ArtReport, 2003 (PDF)

In art as in lie, timing is everything. As a preview to the step-by-step tools in the

How section, we have outlined the phases o a public art project and the tasks

within each stage o the research, production and presentation, to indicate the

time rame necessary or success. Detailed inormation about each stage can be

ound in How.

Establishing the oundation or a project can take several months even ater unds

have been secured. Working in advance, you will want to consider these questions

as you establish a vision or the project, create an excellent process to implement

the vision and plan how to support the outcome:

Does the project vision suit the scale and circumstances?

Who are the artists you hope to attract?

Is the opportunity interesting, desirable, relevant? (In other words: is it a good

idea?)

How is the art opportunity articulated?

Is there an established community o local artists with the necessary skills andexpertise? Would guest speakers, workshops or seminars assist in their proes-

sional development?

Are there unds or a series o commissions or is a one-time pilot more appro-

priate?

Does the opportunity suit a local, national, or international artists call?

Should the commissioned artwork be temporary or permanent?

Is there administrative and political support or the process? I not, can you

adapt its scale to a manageable level?

Who are your potential partners and allies?

In thinking about the time rame o a public art project, its helpul to consider the

dierent points o view at each stage.
http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=498http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=498http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=498http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=498http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=498http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=498http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=498http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=498http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=498


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POINTS OF VIEW

THE ARTIST

Imagine you are an artist. You learn about an art opportunity through a phone call,

a list-serve announcement or email, an ad in the newspaper, an invitation to submit

credentials, a news story, through word o mouth.

It comes at a time when you are busy working towards an exhibition, teaching at a

university or college or completing another commission. You will need to: Update your CV

Collect and organize relevant visual materials including images o your work,

ormatted to comply with the specications o the artists call

Consider the context and develop a response

Write a letter o interest

For the best possible response rom artists, allow 4-6 weeks to circulate an open call

or 3-4 weeks or an invited call (a direct request or credentials)

THE AGENCY

In developing a commissioning opportunity, agencies need to consider the time ittakes to create a successul process. Te agency may need to:

Hire a consultant with the necessary expertise to lead them through all phases

o the project

Ensure there is eective management and administrative support or the project

Develop contact lists o artists, organizations and arts inormation resources

or distributing the artists call

Consult development or planning documents or the area

Develop advisory groups that have input into the nature o the project and can

support the decisions o selection panels, advocate or the project without con-

ict o interest, and celebrate the achievements

Develop clear roles and responsibilities or the technical aspects o the project

Integrate the art project into the planning and construction time rames

Consider the best models or the selection, abrication and installation o the

specic art opportunity

Establish clear criteria or the acceptance o a proposal

Compile the results o your research into a erms o Reerence (allow at least

our weeks)

Work with a consultant to write and circulate the artists call

POINTS OF VIEW

THE ARTIST

Artists will have the ollowing questions about the contracting process:

What are the criteria or decision-making?

Are the deliverables, schedule and ees easible?

Are the artists rights considered?

Who will be the primary contact within the agency?

What will the agency will provide?

Is there time to consult legal counsel?

ARTISTS

CALL PHASE

CONTRACTINGPHASE

The detailed work o the contractingprocess can take rom 3 5 weeks.


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THE AGENCY

Who will manage the communications with the artist?

Has the technical team contributed to and reviewed the list o deliverables and

schedule?

Are the acceptance and technical review processes dened?

Has the legal department been consulted regarding contract details?

POINTS OF VIEW

THE ARTIST

Once the shortlisted artists or artist is chosen, they will need approximately our

to six weeks, depending on the complexity o the project, to orient, research and

respond with an initial concept and another six to eight weeks or a detailed design.

o make a meaningul proposal the artist will want to:

Research the site and how it is used, its incidental and particular audiences, its

history, its visual conditions, trafc and/or pedestrian patterns, sound-scape,

how it operates in the daytime and at night, its inrastructure, its engineering

specications, the architecture, sightlines, and other conditions

Consult with design and technical proessionals involved in the site

Create visual materials, write prose that supports the ideas, and careully con-

sider whether the budget and time rame is adequate to execute the idea

THE AGENCY

Ensures the design and technical team are available to work with the artist and

respond to questions

Manages the technical reviews and acceptance o the concept proposal

Manages communications to the selection panel, sta, council members and

other stakeholders

POINTS OF VIEW

THE ARTIST

Review deliverables and monitor production and ee schedules

Research, test and re-evaluate prototypes

Research and establish materials and resources, consultants, and team mem-

bers needed to execute the design and construction

Obtain estimates rom abricators and suppliers

Develop and revise budgets to establish nancial easibility

Research specications and resources or maintenance

Revise documents, report and invoice

THE AGENCY

Manages the technical review at the beginning o the Detailed Design process

and provides the artist with a checklist o required materials, drawings, and

documents

Manages the technical review that assesses the completed Detailed Design sub-

mission and ollows the process o acceptance outlined in the artists contract

CONCEPT

PROPOSAL

PHASE

DETAILED

DESIGN PHASE


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POINTS OF VIEW

THE ARTIST

Contracts the abrication and construction team

Monitors abrication and eld reviews or construction

Keeps a close watch on the budget

Provides documentation o the nished artwork as per contract requirements

Reports and invoices as per the contract ee schedule

THE AGENCY

Provides contacts and resources or permitting

In some cases, manages part o the abrication and installation with other de-

partments o the agency

Coordinates reviews and signs o at dened stages

Processes reports and invoices

Manages communications

POINTS OF VIEWTHE ARTIST

Provides a statement about the work

Provides images or promotional use

Provides a mailing list o associates to be invited to celebrate the completion o

the project

THE AGENCY

Establishes a resource o press, media and art community contact inormation

Collects the artists documentation and manages the design o publicity materials

Develops a well-considered communication plan or advisory groups, council

members, the community, advocates and supporters leading up to the publicannouncement

Develops a media strategy to promote the artwork and the overall Public Art

Program, and cultivates long-term relationships with media contacts

Anticipates any controversial issues and strategizes responses to discourage

sensationalism and encourage meaningul discussion

Cultivates relationships with curators, educators and other proessionals to

encourage learning opportunities or students and the public in general

POINT OF VIEW

THE ARTIST Was adequate creative time provided?

Was the commission process supported by the stakeholders?

Was the work celebrated and deended?

THE AGENCY

Were communications eective?

Were there internal and external snags and roadblocks in the process?

How can we ocus energy on problem-solving?

FABRICATION &

INSTALLATION

PHASEThe abrication and installation timeline

will vary depending on the nature o

the project and the overall constructionschedule. Estimate at least 6 months.

PUBLICRELATIONS

Public Relations should be integrated into

the overall timeline o the project and

include detailed planning to celebrate the

presentation o the work to the public.

EVALUATIONPHASE

Ater a project has been accomplished,

take the time to review the process with

staf, have a cofee with the artist and

gather eedback about the successes and

challenges. Questions to consider:


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Were new relationships ormed or the Program?

Was data gathered or policy development and Program expansion?

THE PUBLICS

Were the relevant communities inormed about the work?

Were there opportunities to celebrate and learn about the artwork and the

goals and achievements o the Program?

Is there access to inormation about the artwork and the Program?

Resources for Evaluation:

Ixia Public Art Tink ankwww.ixia-ino.com/research/evaluation/

Public Relations: In Context

Te communications and collaborative networks you develop among departments,

cultural institutions, organizations and individuals will work in your avour in a

number o ways: Enhanced distribution o inormation about the Program

Valuable eedback about the eectiveness o communication materials

Enhanced knowledge o the expertise and opportunities to collaborate within

your community

Critical support or your Program and individual projects

Long-term enrichment o the Program through education, partnerships and

collaboration

Case Study: People Amongst the People, Susan Point, 2008

Public Consultation prior to Artist Call PhaseCase Study: Laneway Commissions, Melbourne, On-going

Artists Call, Concept Proposal, Contracting, Detailed Design,

Fabrication/Installation

Urban Screens Conerence, 2008

Federation Square, Melbourne

Selection Process Checklist (PDF)
http://www.ixia-info.com/research/evaluation/http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=508http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=508http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=508http://www.ixia-info.com/research/evaluation/


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Where4A n artwork and its site are inseparable. When we identiy a location or anartwork, we are determining part o its orm, setting its visual and socialparameters, and contributing to its meaning. Like the ormal choices omaterial, colour, scale and shape, the site has a history and a set o associations.

A new concrete and steel tower, an historic park, or a bustling market street aect

us dierently and inuence the ways we move through them, how much time we

spend there and what we expect to occur.

The Specifcs o Site

An awareness o site specicity is an important aspect o public art that has devel-

oped over the last 30 years in reaction to the earlier practice o plop artbuying a

sculpture and bringing it in to ll an empty space. Site-specic art has contributed

greatly to the textures and experiences in the public realm. Its important to re-

member that some site specic work relates more to the

built orms, colour and texture o its environment and

less to its social reerence points, acting on a creativewhim that may enliven a location in uncanny ways.

Involving an artist early in the project, and nurtur-

ing their relationship with the architects, landscape

architects and engineers or a new building will help to

sidestep the limitations o a rigidly dened site and en-

hance the imaginative response o the artistwhich is

why they are there in the rst place. Te artist will oten

see the site dierently and suggest approaches that have

never occurred to anyone.

While all artwork is inuenced by its site, some projects

place more emphasis on investigating the physical, his-

torical or social aspects o where they are placed, and lean heavily on these aspects

to inorm the meaning o the work. Tis site-specicity is such that, should the

work be placed elsewhere, its meaning would be completely altered or lost.

Nicolson, Marianne, Pictograph, 1998The artist scaled a vertical rock ace

in Kingcome Inlet to paint a massive

pictograph to mark the continued vitality

o her ancestral village o Gwayi.

Photo: Judith Williams


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Platorm-based Projects

Platorm-based projects are on-going opportunities

that are defned by the materials and/or the place-

ment, that support consecutive, temporary artworks.

Artists are given specifc parameters such as scale or

duration that the work must ft within. Tis limits the

individual artists choice o how the work is made, but

lessens their time commitment and gives them the

opportunity to present work on similar platorms in

multiple cities. Examples o platorms include digital

works on dedicated video screens, large scale photo-

graphic works in dedicated advertising spaces, and

banners. A fxed plinth or other support may be a stag-

ing point or consecutive artworks. Artist have taken

the role o curator or platorms they have created by

inviting other artists to respond to the conditions they

have set up.

Hirsch, Antonia, Vox Pop, 2008

Presented by Other Sights or Artists Projects on advertising

screens managed by Bonnis Media, at Robson and Granville

Streets, Vancouver. A one-minute video depicts a solitary

an perorming The Wave in the Pacic Coliseum.

www.othersights.ca/projects.html

(composite video still) 2-channel video installation: silent,

HD/SD versions available dimensions variable

Antonia Hirsch, 2008

Photo:Loe

Russell
http://www.othersights.ca/projects.htmlhttp://www.othersights.ca/projects.html


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Expanded Sites

An expanded site is a very current approach to public art. It looks beyond

the built environment to include more dispersed orms o public space.

Tis can include vehicles, cell phones, the internet, printed materials, sky-

writing, projected videoany available means o communication, including

simple conversation between people.

A city itsel can be proposed as a site or artists responses. In this approach, artists

are invited to propose a location or a set o possible locations that interest them

and the sta and consultant/curator then negotiates securing the site on their be-

hal. Tis idea o site mirrors how we live in a city, as mobile and curious members

o diverse and interconnected communities.

City of Vancouver: Mapping & Marking

Mapping and Marking was born rom one o the most innovative recommenda-

tions Vancouver City Council adopted last year to reinvigorate the Public Art

Program. Te initiative encourages artists with strong connections to Vancouver to

propose works o art based on their own ideas and art practice, at sites o their own

choosing. Mapping and Marking is the pilot project or this initiative and lends itsel

to the Citys new vision o supporting and investing in the creative arts and culture

o Vancouver over the next decade.

http://olympichostcity.vancouver.ca/cityhighlights/thecreativecity/publicartpro-

gram/mapping-marking.htm

Kelly, Deborah, Beware of the God,documentation of cloud projection,

October 2005

Deborah Kellys project Beware of the

Godwas part o the exhibition Interesting

Times at the Museum o Contemporary

Art, Sydney in the all o 2005. The project

consisted o an animation shown on 42

projection screens in the underground rail

network across Sydney, 40,000 sticker

postcards by Avant Card, a limited edition

metal plaque, night-time projections onto

clouds, and an on-going blog.

Photo: Alex Kershaw

artistinitiated2010 Mapping & Marking.

(PDF)
http://olympichostcity.vancouver.ca/cityhighlights/thecreativecity/publicartprogram/mapping-marking.htmhttp://olympichostcity.vancouver.ca/cityhighlights/thecreativecity/publicartprogram/mapping-marking.htmhttp://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=499http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=499http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=499http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=499http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=499http://olympichostcity.vancouver.ca/cityhighlights/thecreativecity/publicartprogram/mapping-marking.htmhttp://olympichostcity.vancouver.ca/cityhighlights/thecreativecity/publicartprogram/mapping-marking.htm


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POINT OF VIEW

THE ARTIST

considers the site as integral to the artwork

evaluates its social, historical and physical conditions

responds to both the potential and the rustration it can present

is inspired by new approaches to the idea o site

THE AGENCY

considers the site as the meeting place o a variety o interests

enhances a sites potential and mitigates its challenges

is inormed about new denitions o site

avoids setting too-rigid parameters

THE PUBLICS

responds to new ways o seeing amiliar places

moves through, lingers and remembers a site in particular ways


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HowThe Mission5A Program mission is the touchstone to which an agency can reer or mak-ing policy decisions, ne-tuning activities and planning or the uture, aswell as a benchmark to use in evaluating progress. A mission statementcommunicates the values and operating principles o the Program to the public, the

art community and to colleagues within the agency.

In developing or evaluating a Public Art Program mission you will want to consider

the Programs key values. Does the mission:

Acknowledge its audiences?

Value the work o artists?

Seek inspiration rom exceptional artworks?

Celebrate the role o art in enriching the experience o urban space?

Consider each artwork as part o a growing collection?

Resources:

Creative ime Mission Statementwww.creativetime.org/about/index.html

Public Art Online (Extensive tools, links and resources divided into sections or art-

ist, commissioner, local authorities, researcher and consultants)

www.publicartonline.org.uk/

Americans or the Arts (Goals, Planning ools, Selection Process, percent or art)

www.americansorthearts.org/networks/public_art_network/deault_.asp

Ixia Public Art Tink ank Good Practice

www.ixia-ino.com/about-public-art/good-practice/
http://www.creativetime.org/about/index.htmlhttp://www.publicartonline.org.uk/http://www.americansforthearts.org/networks/public_art_network/default_004.asphttp://www.ixia-info.com/about-public-art/good-practice/http://www.ixia-info.com/about-public-art/good-practice/http://www.americansforthearts.org/networks/public_art_network/default_004.asphttp://www.publicartonline.org.uk/http://www.creativetime.org/about/index.html


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Operating Principles

Operating principles express the values o the Program and guide the development

o policies. Principles such as these can inspire a Program to excellence:

Sustainable orward-thinking policies and practices that oster innovation

Public art opportunities that are unique and meaningul to each specic site

Willingness to seek curatorial expertise or research and artist selection

Consideration o new and unique platorms or artist opportunities Consideration o emerging and under-represented artists by providing diverse

opportunities, clear guidelines and management support

Encouragement o creative dialogue between artists, architects, engineers and

trades, arts organizations and the public

Clear criteria and processes or the acceptance o artworks including donated

works or unds

Celebration o and discussion about public art through openings, presenta-

tions, orums and events

Consideration o the collection as a whole

Planning or maintenance and conservation

Program development is an on-going and exciting international conversation, and

this example will give you an indication o the depth and momentum o activities in

the eld:

Birkbeck: University o London, Maniesto o Possibilities

wiki.bbk.ac.uk/Buildingcultures/index.php/Maniesto_o_Possibilities

Te values and operating principles, resulting rom an inormed and inspired mis-

sion, will be embedded in the policies your agency creates to address excellence,

unding, decision-making authorities, selection panels, arms length practices,

maintenance, and donations.

Lum, Ken, Four Boats Stranded, Red and Yellow, Black and White, 2001

Vancouver Art Gallery
http://wiki.bbk.ac.uk/Buildingcultures/index.php/Manifesto_of_Possibilitieshttp://wiki.bbk.ac.uk/Buildingcultures/index.php/Manifesto_of_Possibilities


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HowFunding and Partnerships6A s public art has been embraced by agencies around the world, models orunding are developing and evolving. We have outlined several approachesand provided examples o interesting established and emerging models.You will notice that Public Art Programs rely upon partnerships and collaboration,

which reects the nature and conditions o working in public spaces.

Private Development Percent or Art Programs

A private sector percent or art Program allows a city or region to attain the ad-

vantages o public art in exchange or negotiated benets or the developers, such

as height and density bonuses. Te development sector oten embraces public art

as a way to enhance their own image in the marketplace, while providing alterna-

tive and interesting amenities or their employees and residents to enjoy. Te con-

tribution or art projects can be used or the public areas o the development site or

allocated to the Public Art Program in general, and managed by the city.

Partnerships with private development work best when the Public Art Program:

establishes the principles and standards to which all parties will adhere clearly denes the role o developers in the process and the terms o their

contribution

involves art proessionals with curatorial and management expertise

employs an Art Plan to outline an opportunity and selection process prior to

announcing a competition

is exible in making exceptions or non-prot organizations, social housing,

neighbourhood leisure centres, etc.

oers an option or the developer to contribute to a Public Art Reserve

managed by the agency as an alternative to oering a commission

is willing to consider new, entrepreneurial approaches to addressing the publicart requirement

requires that a percentage o the public art budget be contributed to a

maintenance und

Large scale developments can contribute signicant unds or major public art op-

portunities. Te standard requirement in North America has been One Percent or

Public Art, and some programs have recently been increased to 1.3% or 2%, reect-

ing the rising costs o constructing specialized elements and the growing market

value o art internationally. While these standard ormulas exist as benchmarks,


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alternate ormulas should not be ruled out. Te unds resulting rom public art

requirements generally include the consulting and selection process as well as all

costs and ees or the project.

City o Vancouver Private Sector Programvancouver.ca/commsvcs/oca/publicart

Private sector public art policies were designed to ensure that developers recognized

the standards o contemporary art in selecting projects. Over the years, companies

have embraced public art and become inormed about the practiceand have begun

to think outside the box, sometimes taking on projects even when there is no specic

requirement. As the awareness o the developer community (along with the public in

general) grows more curious and experimental, it is important to allow exibility within

the Program. Tis will encourage entrepreneurial thinkers to creatively address the

spirit o the public art requirement in new ways. Recent examples include ongoing tem-

porary projects, as well as editions o variations o commissioned artworks. In keeping

with trends in contemporary art, some developers with public art experience acknowl-

edge the role o curation and the potential o art to animate a site in diverse ways.

In the ollowing example, Westbank/Peterson Group oered to cover the costs o an

elaborate photo shoot by artist Stan Douglas, even though no public art commission

was required or the Woodwards development in the Gastown area o Vancouver. Doug-

las produced a major photographic work or the Woodwards development as well as an

edition o smaller scale photographs that he can exhibit and sell as he chooses.

Kamping-Carder, Leigh, At the Gastown Riot

Te Walrus Magazine,www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/.-prole-at-the-

gastown-riot-stan-douglas-walrus-vancouver-art/

Meyer, ini, A Patron, An Artist, Te Public,

Te Vancouver Sun,www.ampri.ca/home/WestCoast_Homes.pd

In another upcoming example, ParkLane Homes is undertaking a development on

a much longer timeline. Te project, sited on the banks o the Fraser River, British

Columbia will continue into the next two decades. Rather than opting or a perma-

nent, large scale sculpture, the company became interested in a changing program

o artwork that would permeate the social abric o the community; a program that

would evolve as the community grew and one that would emphasize the processes

o investigation, inquiry, and public engagement. Tis approach parallels the scope

o the development, and is a strategy to ensure the public art requirement remains

current and responsive to the site over time.

In the creation o a new corporate headquarters, the Luthansa Aviation Centre

wanted to invite artists to work here with the architecture and create artworks

that relate specically to the building, the Luthansa identity and the construction

process. We thereore selected artists who are on the brink o an important stage in

their careers. Luthansa will continue to ollow their progress. Tis on-going com-

mitment to an expanding art Program reveals a desire to integrate artistic practice

into a corporate culture.

Luthansa

Cerith Wyn Evans, http://lac.luthansa.com/en/html/kunst/evans/index.php

Greyworld, The Source, 2004,

An eight storey kinetic sculpture, sited at

the London Stock Exchange. Every morning

the installation comes to lie, signiying the

opening o the London Markets. The grid o

cables support nine spheres that rise andall in relation to market activity.

www.greyworld.org/#the_source_/i1

Photo: Copyright greyworld 2010.
http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/oca/publicart/http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2009.07-profile-at-the-gastown-riot-stan-douglas-walrus-vancouver-art/http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2009.07-profile-at-the-gastown-riot-stan-douglas-walrus-vancouver-art/http://www.ampri.ca/home/WestCoast_Homes.pdfhttp://lac.lufthansa.com/en/html/kunst/evans/index.phphttp://www.greyworld.org/#the_source_/i1http://www.greyworld.org/#the_source_/i1http://lac.lufthansa.com/en/html/kunst/evans/index.phphttp://www.ampri.ca/home/WestCoast_Homes.pdfhttp://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2009.07-profile-at-the-gastown-riot-stan-douglas-walrus-vancouver-art/http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2009.07-profile-at-the-gastown-riot-stan-douglas-walrus-vancouver-art/http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/oca/publicart/


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Civic Capital Projects

A civic Public Art Program can provide leadership to potential partners and dem-

onstrate their commitment to art on public lands by dedicating unds rom the city

capital budget or the development and management o public art projects.

Te two unding methods commonly used by municipalities involve:

Levying a percentage against hard and sot capital project construction bud-

gets. Tis can be an overall levy on the capital base or can be applied to projectso a minimum size. It may be used on the project site or pooled towards overall

Program plans and costs.

Allocating a xed amount o the overall city capital budget or public art proj-

ects. Te amount depends on the size o the city or the prole o the special

projects. Since public art projects most oten develop over more than one year,

the Program should be allowed to accumulate at least a percentage o these

unds in order to acilitate larger projects and to collect the necessary nancial

resources beore a project is undertaken.

San Francisco Arts Commission programs

integrate the arts into all aspects o City lie

through storeront projects, online activities

and neighbourhood initiatives.

San Francisco Arts Commissionwww.

sartscommission.org/

Some civic Programs operate outside the city

bureaucracy, working in partnership with other

government or non-prot groups to provide

public art services on a regular or project-

specic basis. Tis model has the advantage ooperating at arms-length, minimizing politi-

cal intererence and creating more resilient and

art-ocused organizations. Te city provides

a base level o unding or the operations and

project budgets. Tis model may also have an

advantageas an arms-length entity, the organization may be eligible or contribu-

tions rom other sources o government unding or private donations.

In Memphis, Te UrbanArt Commission is unded in part by the City o Memphis,

ArtsMemphis, the ennessee Arts Commission and the nancial contributions o

culturally committed private citizens and patrons o the arts.

UrbanArt Commissionwww.urbanartcommission.org/about.html

Te Winnipeg Arts Council is unded by the City o Winnipeg to manage their art

Programs including public art.www.winnipegarts.ca/index.php?/public-art/

Culture in Washington State is a tax-exempt public corporation that operates as

a cultural service agency or the County. Experienced public art sta work on a

consulting basis to plan and manage projects and partnerships between the County

and others.www.culture.org/publicart/index.htm

North, Peter and Alyssa, The Verdant

Walk, 2008 2010

This City o Cleveland Public Art project

uses more than 4,000 square eet o

native Ohio grasses and seven sculptures.

In the warm months, the sculptures are

covered with orm-tting abric sheath-

ing and are lighted internally at night. Thelights are powered by energy generated

rom solar panels woven into the abric

o the covers. In the winter, the covers

are removed rom the sculptures, leaving

their intricate metal rameworks exposed.

www.clevelandpublicart.org/projects/

completed/the-verdant-walk

Photo: Pete North o North Design Oce.
http://www.sfartscommission.org/http://www.sfartscommission.org/http://www.urbanartcommission.org/about.htmlhttp://www.winnipegarts.ca/index.php?/public-art/http://www.4culture.org/publicart/index.htmhttp://www.clevelandpublicart.org/projects/completed/the-verdant-walkhttp://www.clevelandpublicart.org/projects/completed/the-verdant-walkhttp://www.clevelandpublicart.org/projects/completed/the-verdant-walkhttp://www.clevelandpublicart.org/projects/completed/the-verdant-walkhttp://www.4culture.org/publicart/index.htmhttp://www.winnipegarts.ca/index.php?/public-art/http://www.urbanartcommission.org/about.htmlhttp://www.sfartscommission.org/http://www.sfartscommission.org/


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Partnerships with other Departments

Public Art Programs may augment limited budgets by partnering with Planning,

Engineering, and Parks and Recreation Departments. Planning Department unds

can assist the development o public art plans, as shown in the development o the

Carrall Street Greenway project linking Gastown and Chinatown in Vancouver.

City o Vancouver, Carrall Street Art Plan

http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/oca/publicart/pd/carrallpublicartplan.pd

Public inrastructure such as utility covers, benches, and street paving oer

opportunities or artist design commissions with production costs already in place

or replacing city inrastructure.

Art Under Footinvited anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in Vancouver to

submit design ideas or new manhole covers, the lids that mark the entrances to

our underground network o sewers. Te Public Art Program received more than

640 entries rom Vancouverites o all walks o lie and ages.

For smaller civic projects, a pre-adjudicated pool o artists available or public art

projects is one way to keep budgets manageable and respond to limited timelines.

Tis pool o approved artists can be a resource or Engineering, Streets and other

city departments when projects arise. Direct selection rom the list is possible, but

most oten several artists are interviewed or a specic opportunity, with input

rom art proessionals on the interview team.

Washington State Arts Commission, Art in Public Places Public Art Roster

www.arts.wa.gov/public-art/roster.shtml

Libraries are oten natural partners in the public art process. As hosts or artists in

residence programs, as commissioners or temporary or permanent artworks, or as

Weih, Jen,Art Underfoot, sanitation sewer cover, 2004

http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/oca/publicart/artunderoot/index.htmPhoto: Barbara Cole
http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/oca/publicart/pdf/carrallpublicartplan.pdfhttp://www.arts.wa.gov/public-art/roster.shtmlhttp://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/oca/publicart/artunderfoot/index.htmhttp://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/oca/publicart/artunderfoot/index.htmhttp://www.arts.wa.gov/public-art/roster.shtmlhttp://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/oca/publicart/pdf/carrallpublicartplan.pdf


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presentation venues or talks and workshops, libraries place a high value on public

access to culture.

Vancouver Public Library worked with the city Public Art Program to host curato-

rial proposals and with Te Aperture Program, a series o artists banners in the

library. Te VPL also assisted with undraising and collaborated with non-prot

arts groups in the implementation o aspects o these Programs.

Partnerships with Local Businesses

Local Business Improvement Associations and ratepayer groups can provide und-

ing to help improve community spirit through public art initiatives. Incentives can

be created through a granting process or providing matching unds or an artist to

develop a concept proposal. Tese partnerships increase the number o interests

involved in a project and require more investment in managing communication

and dialogue.

Partnerships with small business works best when:

all proposals are subject to the best practices o selection and production

the roles o the collaborators are clearly stated initiatives reect existing area plans and art plans

Te South Hill Art Plan was commissioned by the South Hill Business Improvement

Association in Vancouver.

South Hill Art Plan (PDF)

Partnerships with Transit and Pedestrian Projects

Major inrastructure projects, sometimes involving more than one municipality as

well as a transit corporation, can provide ample resources or a coherent and vital

Program that interacts with a large cross section o residents and visitors. Budgets

will vary, as there may be no consistent mechanism or public art allocations, but itmay be to everyones benet to revitalize the corridor with art projects. Bus wraps,

transit shelters and billboards are relatively inexpensive and accessible advertising

ormats that can easily be adapted to artists projects.

Main Street Public Art Urban ransit Showcase

A collaboration between ranslink, the City o Vancouver and ransport Canada,

the inaugural project, Blocks by the artists collective Instant Coee included bus

wraps, signage and a transit shelter.

Instant Coee, A Bright Futurewww.instantcoee.org/home.html

ranslink, Main Street public art program has its ofcial launch, Te Buzzer Blog,

http://buzzer.translink.ca/index.php///main-street-public-art-program-has-

its-ofcial-launch/

Main Street Public Art Plan

White, Pae My-Fi, 2007Installed in the window o Ca Leinmann,

Muenster, these marzipan sculptures o

Los Angeles taco trucks were produced in

collaboration with conectioners.

www.lwl.org/LWL/Kultur/skulptur-projek-

te/kuenstler/white/ Photo: Barbara Cole

Batchelor, David, Ten Silhouettes, 2005,

commissioned by Art on the Underground.

Installed in the Glouc ester Road Tube

Station, London, the work includes 10

arched niches with suspended ound

metal objects, illuminated rom behind.

www.t.gov.uk/t/corporate/project-

sandschemes/artmusicdesign/pa/artists/

batchelor.asp Photo: Daisy Hutchinson
http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=509http://www.instantcoffee.org/home.htmlhttp://buzzer.translink.ca/index.php/2009/01/main-street-public-art-program-has-its-official-launch/http://buzzer.translink.ca/index.php/2009/01/main-street-public-art-program-has-its-official-launch/http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=524http://www.lwl.org/LWL/Kultur/skulptur-projekte/kuenstler/white/http://www.lwl.org/LWL/Kultur/skulptur-projekte/kuenstler/white/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/projectsandschemes/artmusicdesign/pfa/artists/batchelor.asphttp://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/projectsandschemes/artmusicdesign/pfa/artists/batchelor.asphttp://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/projectsandschemes/artmusicdesign/pfa/artists/batchelor.asphttp://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=524http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/projectsandschemes/artmusicdesign/pfa/artists/batchelor.asphttp://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/projectsandschemes/artmusicdesign/pfa/artists/batchelor.asphttp://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/projectsandschemes/artmusicdesign/pfa/artists/batchelor.asphttp://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=509http://www.lwl.org/LWL/Kultur/skulptur-projekte/kuenstler/white/http://www.lwl.org/LWL/Kultur/skulptur-projekte/kuenstler/white/http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=524http://buzzer.translink.ca/index.php/2009/01/main-street-public-art-program-has-its-official-launch/http://buzzer.translink.ca/index.php/2009/01/main-street-public-art-program-has-its-official-launch/http://www.instantcoffee.org/home.htmlhttp://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=509


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Partnerships with Arts and Cultural Organizations

Art organizations are natural allies or public art and can play a signicant role in

the development o your Program and in promoting your activities. Galleries and

museums, collectives and service organizations may have access to sources o und-

ing and expertise to contribute and have an important part to play in the promo-

tional strategy or your Program and projects through their networks and member-

ship. In addition to co-sponsorships o artworks, they may oer opportunities orpartnering on education programs, artists lectures, or panel discussions.

Osite is a recent initiative o the Vancouver Art Gallery. Osite: O Zhang

www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/the_exhibitions/public_art.html

Organizations ormed specically to present public art can provide inspiring ways

o working with artists, new orms o public art, and innovative marketing methods.

oronto Sculpture Garden,www.torontosculpturegarden.com/history.htm

Madison Square Park Conservancy,

www.madisonsquarepark.org/Programs/MadSqArt.aspx

Artist-led Projects

Artists with secured project resources may approach a Pub-

lic Art Program or assistance with additional unding, site

procurement or to manage the requirements or the use o a

public space.

Knowles.Harbourside.Bristol.pd

Partnerships with Industry or Academic Research

Agencies may create research opportunities or artists to col-

laborate with other disciplines, sharing a creative approach to

geography, natural sciences and environmental studies. Tese

Programs oten employ partnerships with post-secondary

institutions and senior government departments.

Royal Society or the encouragement o Arts, Manuactures

and Commerce,

Arts and Ecology Program,www.rsaartsandecology.org.uk

Art Angel, Roni Horn, Vatnasan/Library o Water, Stykkisholmur, Iceland

www.libraryowater.is/ash/standaloneMM.html

Case Study: Yellow Fence, Erica Stocking, UniverCity, 2009

Partnership with the Private Development Industry

Case Study: People Amongst the People, Susan Point, Stanley Park, 2008

Partnerships with other Departments

Kusama, Yayoi, Dot Obsession, 2009

Part o the Walking in my Mind

exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, London,

this row o wrapped tree trunks is placedat the halway point o a 45m walk along

the Thames. Photo: Barbara Cole
http://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/the_exhibitions/public_art.htmlhttp://www.torontosculpturegarden.com/history.htmhttp://www.madisonsquarepark.org/Programs/MadSqArt.aspxhttp://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=523http://www.rsaartsandecology.org.uk/http://www.libraryofwater.is/flash/standaloneMM.htmlhttp://case%20study%20yellow%20fence/http://case%20study%20yellow%20fence/http://case%20study%20-%20people%20amongst%20the%20people/http://case%20study%20-%20people%20amongst%20the%20people/http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=523http://case%20study%20-%20people%20amongst%20the%20people/http://case%20study%20-%20people%20amongst%20the%20people/http://case%20study%20yellow%20fence/http://case%20study%20yellow%20fence/http://www.libraryofwater.is/flash/standaloneMM.htmlhttp://www.rsaartsandecology.org.uk/http://creativecity.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=523http://www.madisonsquarepark.org/Programs/MadSqArt.aspxhttp://www.torontosculpturegarden.com/history.htmhttp://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/the_exhibitions/public_art.html


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HowActing on the Mission7 he basic task o any Public Art Program is to support the production oexcellent artwork. o do this, it should nurture best practices using policystatements as a guide.Program Focus

Working rom the Program mission, you may wish to establish policies thatstate the ocus o the Program as a way to clariy objectives and create manageable

parameters.

Funding and Partnerships

As we discussed in the previous chapter, a range o unding models are at play in the

production o public art. Policies that outline the unding relationships within and

beyond the agency will determine the easibility o the Program.

Roles and Expertise

Establishing policies that support curatorial and artistic expertise is central to

the success o the Program. Tis includes clearly dening the roles and expertiseo sta, committees, selection panels and technical review committees. Public art

involves the expertise o many departments rom engineering and planning to per-

mits. Policies should outline the major reporting relationships.

Arms-Length Peer Review

Arms-length is a term particularly pertinent to the arts. In order to keep decisions

about the quality o art ree rom political intererence, arms-length peer review

panels are charged with applying rigorous artistic standards in reviewing proposals

Considered a best practice by oundations, granting agencies and post-secondary

institutions, this policy will protect elected ofcials rom external pressures and

lends legitimacy to the selection process. Peer review panels involve artists, cura-tors and other proessionals with expertise in the eld o contemporary art.

Acceptance o Proposals

Te CEO or city council may be the ultimate decision-making authority, however,

the public art review process involves input and expertise at many levels rom both

inside and outside the agency. A proposal must meet the requirements o the op-

portunity as dened through community and technical consultation with sta and

site proessionals. Te erms o Reerence are reviewed by sta, the site team, and


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the public art advisory committee. It provides guidelines to the peer review panel

and lays out the technical parameters established by engineers and planners. Both

the art and the politicians are best served by supporting the outcomes o a rigorous

selection and review process.

Maintenance o the collection

Adequate unding and stafng resources are needed or the long-term maintenance

o the artworks. A maintenance und should be established either with unds rom

the Program budget or a percentage o the artwork budgets (oten 10%). Processes

or reviewing the condition o works and procedures or maintenance can be

planned with other departments within the agency. It should be noted that art-

works have very specic maintenance needs oten requiring consultation with the

artist and art conservation proessionals.

Donations

Many public art collections are based o

public art toolkit

Documents