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10 Great Reasons to Support Public Art

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10 Great Reasons to Support Public Art Article 26 10 Great Reasons to Support Public Art 1. It’s public! Everyone has access to public art. It’s directly in the public sphere and not confined to galleries or museums. 2. It enriches our physical environments, bringing streetscapes, plazas, town buildings and schools to life. 3. It’s a great tool for civic engagement, building social capital and encouraging civil discourse. 4. It provides professional opportunities for artists and cultivates an environment in which the creative class thrives. 5. It boosts local economies. Businesses supply materials and labor; restaurants, hotels and transportation companies benefit from a site that attracts visitors. 6. It’s an investment in place making—measured by livability and quality of life—that also engenders community pride. 7. It connects citizens to their neighbors and their shared history through documentation and celebration, and makes cultural heritage a tangible community asset. 8. It enlivens places where people work, which can improve employee morale, productivity and respect. 9. It creates supportive learning environments. It opens eyes—and minds! It attracts students to environments conducive to both learning and fun. 10. It raises public awareness about important community issues, such as environmental stewardship and respect for diversity. --From the Amherst Public Art Commission and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. The Amherst Public Art Commission Why Public Art for Amherst? Public art adds enormous value to the cultural, aesthetic and economic vitality of a community. It is now a well-accepted principle of urban design that public art contributes to a community’s identity, fosters community pride and a sense of belonging, and enhances the quality of life for its residents and visitors. Towns gain real value through public art. Amherst is no exception. As stated in a paper by Americans for the Arts, “...public art can be an essential element when a municipality wishes to progress economically and to be viable to its current and prospective citizens. …Cities with an active and dynamic cultural scene are more attractive to individuals and business. Public art can be a key factor in establishing a unique and culturally active place.” For creating an attractive, vibrant sense of place, public art in a town is as important as appealing storefronts, good street lighting, green spaces and fine restaurants. As the Americans for the Arts paper states, “Places with strong public art expressions break the trend of blandness and sameness, and give communities a stronger sense of place and identity.” Think, for example, of the St. Louis Arch, Chicago’s Picasso sculpture or reflecting “bean” in Millennial Park, Denver airport’s Blue Mustang. By contrast, think what Amherst might be like without public art--without its many murals, its outdoor sculptures like the “Portal” in Kendrick Park or Frost and Dickinson in Sweetser Park, its events and festivals on the Common, its monthly Art Walk.... In a sense, Amherst resides in the public art shadow of Easthampton and Northampton, largely because it doesn’t have the infrastructure—the old mill buildings—that enabled Easthampton and Northampton to create inexpensive space for artists and galleries to flourish. Despite the infrastructure issue, Amherst has the potential to become an arts destination in its own right. With more than 2,100 working artists (4.5 times that of Easthampton) and no shortage of public space to display a wide variety of public art, both visual and performing. It boasts many great art and culture museums, an art Cinema, an active Business Improvement District, galleries, libraries, and a population interested in and supportive of culture and the arts. What it currently lacks is a reliable funding mechanism for public art, such as a Percent for Art program. Paying for public art is not an expense; it is an investment in the future of Amherst. The payback, as experienced by other cities and towns nationally, includes: • public space enhancement, • an environment more conducive to business development, • increased property values, • growth in cultural tourism, • town identity as an arts and culture destination, • connecting artists with the local community, • growth in citizen pride in a renewed sense of place. The benefits are substantial, which is why the Amherst Public Art Commission is proposing that Amherst adopt a Percent for Art program, utilized by many public art programs in the U.S. to enliven their cities and towns. Turn over the page to see how it works. Funding Public Art with a Percent for Art The Amherst Public Art Commission recommends that Town Meeting approve an article that designates one percent of total costs for construction, renovation and capital improvement projects go for public art at that project site or, if eligible, at other desirable public art sites in Amherst. Details are spelled out in the article itself, but this is a brief overview of what it’s about. Twenty-seven states and more than 90 U.S. municipalities employ a Percent for Art program to fund the creation and placement of public art in their communities. In Massachusetts, Cambridge has used Percent for Art funding for more than 200 art installations since 1979. And last year, Gov. Charlie Baker authorized Percent for Art funding for Boston and the Gateway Cities as well. How does a Percent for Art program work? Whenever a town undertakes a capital building or improvement project, such as a school renovation or new firehouse, a percent of that project’s budget is reserved to create public art as part of the completed project. It could range from an outdoor or indoor sculpture, a mural, an imaginative display of lighting, an interactive educational display, even a fountain or creative use of water. A cost example: If funding were approved for a $20,000,000 new town building in Amherst, the incremental cost to the average Amherst household to provide one percent for art ($200,000) at that project site would be $1.81 per year during the life of a 30-year-bond. * What does the money pay for? The designated percent would be used not just to pay for the artwork itself, but also for costs of the solicitation and jurying process, installation of the artwork, its maintenance and conservation over time, education of the public about the work, and administration of the program. Any leftover funds from the percent allocation to any eligible project (i.e., any building or capital improvement project over $100,000 not requiring outside borrowing) could roll over into a Public Art Fund for use elsewhere in Town that would benefit from public art installations. Who picks the art? The art would be solicited and commissioned by a qualified jury consisting of artists or those knowledgeable about the arts, the project architect or builder, appropriate representatives of the community and users of the new structure, and representatives of the town government and Public Art Commission. The make-up of the jury would depend on the particular construction project involved. Why approve this now? With a number of major building projects in sight over the next decade or so, Amherst has a unique opportunity for using Percent for Art funds to enhance significantly its public spaces, with positive effects on business, tourism, property values, and local pride. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Amherst Public Art Commission: René Théberge (chair), Eric Broudy, Amy Crawley, Rosario Gaddier, Daniel Grant, Bonnie Isman, Ellen Keiter ______________________ * Figures from Sandy Pooler, former Amherst finance director. Borrowing agencies require all funds borrowed for capital projects be spent at that project site. .
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