Percent for Art Programs

OVERVIEW

What are the indicators of a successful percent-for-art program? How do you move from an ordinance or policy document to a robust program? And how do communities of different sizes design and implement percent-for-art policies and programs? Because percent-for-art looks different for every community, we’ve identified four examples that illustrate how percent-for-art can work for jurisdictions of different sizes and governance types, as well as how these programs can secure resources from private or public sources—or a combination of the two.

01

Los Angeles County, CA

02

King County, WA

03

Nashville Metro Area (Davidson County), TN

04

Cambridge, MA

EXAMPLES

Los Angeles County, CA

Population: 9,818,605 (2010 Census)

In 2004, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted the County’s first Civic Art Policy, which allocates one percent of design and construction costs of County capital projects to a Civic Art Special Fund. In August 2015, the Board of Supervisors approved a revision to the Civic Art Policy that extends the civic art requirement to include County capital projects delivered by private developers. Since the policy was established, the county has commissioned more than 200 works of art.

In addition to the county’s percent-for-art program, a 2011 study commissioned by the Civic Art Department of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission found that of the 88 municipalities in the county, 31 have a private percent-for-art requirement (ranging from .5% to 2%), and 16 municipalities have a private and public percent-for-art requirement (1%). According to the study, no municipalities in the county have only a public percent-for-art requirement.

Private Development Percent-for-Art

Yes. The County’s percent-for-art ordinance extends to private development. The County determines the delivery method for civic art in private development either through 1) the Department of Arts and Culture or 2) the developer retaining a professional art consultant from the Department of Arts and Culture's preapproved list. In addition, the City of Los Angeles assesses a Private Arts Development Fee on private development projects valued at $500,000 or more. More details on the Arts Development Fee can be found here.

Public Development Percent-for-Art

Yes. The County’s Civic Art Policy allocates one percent of the design and construction costs of County capital projects for public art. Artworks are integrated into county facilities, such as libraries, fire stations, health clinics, and courthouses. Civic art funds can also be used for temporary works of art, workshops, art events, conservation, and education. Restrictions and exemptions can be viewed in section III of the Civic Art Policy.

Sources

City of Los Angeles. “Private Arts Development Fee Program.” CultureLA.org. https://culturela.org/percent-public-art/private-arts-development-fee-program-adf/ (accessed February 21, 2020).

Los Angeles County Arts Commission. “Civic Art Policy.” PDF File. 2015. https://www.lacountyarts.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/civicartpolicy_approved_20150811.pdf

Los Angeles County Arts Commission, “Los Angeles County Public Art Programs Percent for Art Report.” PDF File. April 13, 2011. https://www.lacountyarts.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/la_county_percent_for_art_report_sm.pdf

King County, WA

Population: 1,931,249 (2010 Census)

Established by ordinance in 1973, Public Art 4Culture commissions contemporary art for shared public space in King County. 4Culture also stewards King County’s public art collection and offers expertise to public and private developers through consulting. The County’s Cultural Resources Division is responsible for management of the public art program. Past projects have included an artist-led participatory walk exploring the county’s regional trails, a documentary film and photo murals created for the Shoreline Transfer Station (2008), and land art at a former gravel pit designed by conceptual artist and sculptor Robert Morris (1979). 4Culture also manages SODO Track, a 2-mile stretch of industrial buildings along a light rail track featuring vibrant street art.

Private Development Percent-for-Art

No. However, the county does assess a tax on hotel and motel guests. These funds are then distributed through 4Culture’s grant programs to support historic preservation, heritage, and arts programs. Beginning in 2021, 37.5% of lodging taxes will be dedicated to arts and culture. In addition, 4Culture staff provide public art management expertise to developers seeking to incorporate public art into their projects.

Public Development Percent-for-Art

Sources

4Culture. “Consulting Services.” https://www.4culture.org/public-art/consulting/ (accessed February 21, 2020).

4Culture. “Our Work.” https://www.4culture.org/public-art/our-work/ (accessed February 21, 2020).

4Culture. “Revenue Sources.” https://www.4culture.org/about-4culture/revenue-sources/ (accessed February 21, 2020).

King County Office of Financial Management. “Calculation of 1% for Art Budget on Capital Projects.” https://www.kingcounty.gov/about/policies/aep/budgetaep/bud101aep.aspx (accessed February 21, 2020).

Nashville Metro Area (Davidson County), TN

Population: 626,681 (2010 Census)

Established in 1978, Metro Nashville Arts Commission (Metro Arts), the office of Arts & Culture for the city of Nashville and Davidson County, staffs the public art program, including percent-for-art. Metro Arts’ strategic work is overseen by The Metro Nashville Arts Commission, a 15-member board appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Metro Council.

In 2001, The Council of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville And Davidson County adopted a Public Art Ordinance and Guidelines to establish a percent-for-art policy for the city of Nashville and the county-wide metropolitan area. Since then, the program has funded more than 50 permanent artworks through its percent-for-art policy. The program isn’t limited to permanent works of art. The Metro Arts Commission’s 2017 comprehensive public art plan made a series of recommendations for the funding, staffing, and governance necessary to realize new directions in public art, expanding beyond traditional site-based works.

Private Development Percent-for-Art

No. Nashville is not empowered to create requirements for public art in private development. However, Metro Arts’ 2017 public art plan outlines strategies that Metro government could implement to encourage public art in private development through existing planning mechanisms and development review processes. In 2019 Metro Arts also created a manual for developers of best practices that the Commission has developed through its management of the city’s public art collection.

Public Development Percent-for-Art

Yes. Allocates a percentage of the Metro government’s budget for capital spending to permanent, site-specific works of public art sited on Metro-owned property. This is regulated through a public art ordinance, which stipulates that one percent of the net proceeds of any general obligation bond issued for construction projects should be dedicated to fund the public art program. If one percent of a particular bond is insufficient to fund a public art project, the ordinance allows proceeds from multiple bonds to be pooled to fund a public art project.

“Construction projects” are defined as any capital project, approved in the Capital Improvements Budget, involving the building or erection of a public building, structure, park, or parking facility. These costs can also include replacement or renovations of these structures and facilities, if the cost of the improvement exceeds fifty percent of the structure’s value before the replacement or renovation. The city’s Public Art Guidelines and Ordinance provide more details about the kinds of costs that bond proceeds may be allocated toward.

Sources

Bressi, Todd W.; McKinley, Meridith. “Metro Nashville Public Art Community Investment Plan.” PDF File. Nashville, TN: Metro Arts Commission, 2017. https://98d9df32-e9e5-49fb-b3f5-811942ccac16.filesusr.com/ugd/cc4e3f_d22cbbd3dc2642a68b949d5e32ec00d8.pdf

Gonzalez, Tony. “Nashville Discovers It Underfunded Its Public Art Program.” Nashville Public Radio WPLN News. June 12, 2019. https://wpln.org/post/nashville-discovers-it-underfunded-its-public-art-program/

Metro Arts Nashville. “Metro Arts Publishes Public Art Guide for Developers.” 2019. https://www.metroartsnashville.com/post/metro-arts-publishes-public-art-guide-for-developers (accessed February 20, 2020).

Metro Arts Nashville. “Public Art Collection.” https://www.metroartsnashville.com/metro-public-art-collection (accessed February 20, 2020).

Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. “Public Art Guidelines.” PDF File. 2002. https://98d9df32-e9e5-49fb-b3f5-811942ccac16.filesusr.com/ugd/cc4e3f_94eeba7fc830492a91413df6260dbcd8.pdf

Cambridge, MA

Population: 105,162 (2010 Census)

Established in 1974 by the City Council, the Cambridge Arts Council is a city agency that funds, promotes, and presents community-based arts programming. As a public nonprofit, Cambridge Arts operates with funding from local government, private foundations, corporate sponsors and individual donors. Cambridge Arts Council employees are responsible for staffing and managing the City’s percent-for art program.

Codified in 1979 with the adoption of the Public Development Arts Ordinance, the City of Cambridge’s percent-for-art policy requires that one percent of the construction costs on city capital projects be designated for the development of site-responsive public artworks. This policy requires that one percent of the construction costs of city developments be reserved for the investment of public artwork. Since this policy was passed, the Cambridge Arts Council has overseen the creation and development of more than 200 such artworks, such as Toshihiro Katayama’s landscape designs outside the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) Porter Station and more than a dozen murals throughout the city.

Private Development Percent-for-Art

Public Development Percent-for-Art

Yes. The Public Development Arts Ordinance stipulates that when City departments request appropriations for construction and renovation projects from bond funding, they must include and set aside at least one percent of the total estimated costs of such projects for art. Funds appropriated through the percent-for-art ordinance are pooled in a Public Development Arts Fund in the City Treasury. These funds must be used for the development and creation of arts in and upon the City’s public construction projects and must be used within three years of appropriation, or, with special approval by the City Council, within five years. After that point, funds are transferred to the City's general fund for other municipal arts spending.

Sources

Cambridge, Massachusetts Code of Ordinances. Chapter 2.114 “Public Development Arts Projects.” https://library.municode.com/ma/cambridge/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT2ADPE_CH2.114PUDEARPR (accessed February 21, 2020).

Cambridge Arts. “Percent-for-Art Program.” https://www.cambridgema.gov/arts/publicart/percentforart (accessed February 21, 2020).

Cambridge Arts. “Public Art Map.” http://www.cambridgema.gov/arts/publicart/percentforart/publicarttour (accessed February 21, 2020).

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Additional Resources

Americans for the Arts. “2017 Survey of Public Art Programs.” PDF File. Washington, DC: Americans for the Arts, 2017. https://www.americansforthearts.org/sites/default/files/2018%20AFTA%20Public%20Art%20Survey_WEB_FINAL.pdf

Carlin, Brad, Ed. “Percent for Art Ordinances.” PDF File. Washington, DC: Americans for the Arts, 2004. https://www.americansforthearts.org/sites/default/files/Percent%20for%20art%20Examples_0.pdf

City of Saint Paul, Minnesota. “Public Art Ordinance Program: Program Guidelines.” https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/financial-services/public-art-ordinance-program

Jackson Hole Public Art. “Places of Possibility: Public Art & Placemaking Toolkit for Rural Communities.” PDF File. 2012. http://2vu7r51wf6it1bb04v1tratk.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Places-of-possiblity-public-art-toolkit.pdf

Miller, Susan M.; Hulstrand, Janet; Kagan, Janet; Kirkland, Larry. “Public Art and Private Development Resource Guide for Developers.” PDF File. Washington, DC: Americans for the Arts, 2010. https://www.americansforthearts.org/sites/default/files/pdf/2013/by_program/networks_and_councils/public_art_network/PublicArtPrivateDevelopmentFINAL.pdf

National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. “State Percent for Art Programs.” https://nasaa-arts.org/nasaa_research/state-percent-art-programs/

Riley, Kevin; Riley, Sarah; Wallace, Jean. “Making Small Towns Special: How to Afford Public Art.” Parks & Recreation Magazine. September 1, 2016. https://www.nrpa.org/parks-recreation-magazine/2016/september/making-small-towns-special-how-to-afford-public-art/