Author: Jim Kelly, Executive Director, 4Culture
Published: June 2009

The benefits of Public Art are multi-faceted. Research and experience have shown that Public Art increases the livability, walkability and desirability of neighborhoods and cities, which in turn, drives local economy, tourism, health, safety and more resources for better quality of life. Public art projects also amount to jobs for artists and jobs for others when they buy materials locally, work with local contractors and engineers and fabricators to assist with the execution of these projects.

With over thirty years in practice, 4Culture's Public Art program models best practices, challenges artists to create their best work and enriches shared public space with contemporary artwork. Within the office we follow the news from the field, and there has been a lot of it lately. A couple of proposals in the 2009 state legislative session sought to either restrict public art opportunities to Washington State artists or suspend the state's Public Art program until the state's finances were in better shape. When the state's deficit is $9 billion, are these proposals really about fiscal responsibility? Targeting public art as a frivolous expenditure of public dollars belies the public benefit of this important cultural investment.

Let's dispel one myth right now. Public art dollars, whether at the county, city or state level are capital dollars, more often than not, acquired by the public sector through the sale of construction bonds. Capital dollars cannot be spent on general operating expenses. Just as you couldn't or wouldn't borrow money to pay your mortgage, the public sector cannot borrow money to fund education or human services. Eliminating public art is not going to gain one dollar to hire more police officers.

Even more disturbing to me than the usual political posturing was the recent incident in the city of Olympia in which artist Dan Webb was awarded a commission, then had his conceptual drawings posted online by staff of the Olympia Arts Commission inviting public comment. The result: a couple of dozen negative comments and his project was cancelled by the city manager, who reported that he had also gotten calls from his ex-wife and members of his swim team who said they didn't like the art.

What's going on here?

Public art administrators need to more effectively and aggressively address perceptions that art dollars are better spent on other services, that investing in public art does not provide real benefits to the local economy and support "real" jobs, or that art selection processes are inherently flawed.

The reality is that communities and citizens want public art, despite claims by the vocal minority that art is a waste of public resources. We see it firsthand. 4Culture's Public Art program has been hired to develop public art plans or implement public art projects by several suburban cities: Federal Way, Burien, Bellevue, Redmond, Lynnwood, Shoreline and Auburn. Our funding programs receive numerous inquiries from communities seeking grant funds to do their own public art projects. There are more than 350 public art programs in the country, which is testament to the popularity of public art.

This last statistic - the number and breadth of public art programs -- is both a good news and bad news story. Literally hundreds of independent communities with politically diverse elected officials, citizens and government employees are adopting formal legislation to support the commissioning of public art. Communities have examined the pros and cons, the financial structures and public benefits, and concluded that public art is good public policy. But, commissioning great works of art involves more than passing legislation, and the factors that create great art and great programs are not always supported. Great programs, and the works that are commissioned, are built on a foundation that fosters proactive partnerships with communities, political leaders and public developers; promotes professional respect for artists and their works; and rewards risk-taking.

Incidents such as what happened in Olympia are not unusual and have impelled Americans for the Arts to develop a "best practices" document to guide artists and arts administrators through the complex art selection process.

Finally, arts administrators have to accept the challenge to tell the story of the artwork, offer a glimpse into the creative process, and help citizens experience and connect to the art that they own. Public art maps, our new cell phone tour, Artist Registry Volume VI, and our public art website are all resources that enable the public to better enjoy the county's wonderfully diverse collection.

Public artworks are changing our built environment, adding meaning to shared social spaces and reflecting our region's unique ideology and values. Public art is a community resource and a symbol of community pride -- and it's good public policy. Let's have more.

Jim Kelly
Executive Director
4Culture
www.4culture.org