Public Art Program

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Public Art and Art in Public Places?

The Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission defines public art as artwork that:

• is created through a process that gathers input from the public
• considers the social and physical context of the site
• is located on Metro public property
• is likely to be funded with public dollars but may be funded by public and/or private dollars

Art in public places is defined as artwork that:

• may or may not have included a public process
• may or may not consider the social and physical context of the site
• may or may not be on Metro public property
• may be funded by private or public dollars

Why is Public Art good for Nashville?

Public art enriches the lives of citizens and visitors in a number of ways. Public art can:

• enhance an experience of being in a public space
• create a sense of place
• contribute to the visual character and texture of the community
• give visual expression to local values and cultural diversity
• foster collective memory and can give meaning to a place by recalling local history
• further the community’s sense of spirit and pride

What are other benefits of Public Art?

Public art can:

• strengthen the positive reputation of Nashville in local, regional, national and international arenas
• contribute to cultural tourism
• give citizens a voice in shaping their civic environment
• unify neighborhoods around shared traditions and experiences

What has Nashville done to encourage and have more Public Art?

Funding:
June 2000 – Created a mechanism to fund public art through Metro government’s construction budget

• Mayor Purcell introduced and the Metro Council passed a public art ordinance which dedicates 1% of the net proceeds of general obligation bonds issued for local government construction projects to fund public art.

Development Process:
May 2000 through July 2001 – Developed Public Art Guidelines

• Included members with professional expertise and diverse community perspectives. A Public Art Guidelines Committee was established that developed Nashville’s guidelines by researching and analyzing similar guidelines from communities across the country. Guidelines were adopted by the Commission in July 2001.

April 2002 – Established a Public Art Committee (PAC)

• Developed and conducted a Public Art Committee orientation process, June 2002 through Spring 2003, in consultation with leaders in the public art field

January through July 2003 – Integrated public art into the Nashville Civic Design Center’s Plan of Nashville (PoN) urban design visioning process

• Recruited artists to participate in the community meetings
• As a part of the PoN process, created and presented two public art workshops, the first of which focused on favorable location options, and the second one explored what should inspire artwork at a specific site.

August 2003 through October 2004 – Public Art Committee and staff developed a draft call to artists based on citizen input from PoN public art workshops

• Staff collected and refined background historical data, maps, photos and images
• Met with key community stakeholders to present the public art program and its first planned project

Selection Process:
November 2004 through May 2005 – Public Art Committee and staff distributed a national call to artists

• Targeted electronic and online channels plus artists identified by colleagues around the country as particularly well-suited to this project
• Public Art Committee (PAC) appointed a nine-member selection panel
• Selection panel identified six semi-finalists to travel to Nashville for a site visit and at a later date to present design proposals, and ultimately selected artist Alice Aycock’s design for Nashville’s first public art project

Project Management:
May 2005 through December 2005 – Staff worked with Metro’s Purchasing and Legal departments to develop a model contract for first project

• Gathered model contracts from successful public art programs as reference
• Planned and produced public announcement to unveil project design and the site
• Project manager and staff researched original engineering drawings of site’s industrial crane base remnants on which the sculpture will be installed
• Negotiated contract with artist Alice Aycock

Where will we place Public Art funded by this process?

Public art projects will be on Metro property, with specific locations to be decided by the Public Art Committee

How are decisions made?

• Public Art Committee chooses, with public input, a location
• Public Art Committee, with staff recommendations, selects a method for recruiting and selecting artists and approves a selection panel
• Selection panel reviews artist submissions and makes recommendations to the Public Art Committee
• Public Art Committee makes recommendations to the Metro Arts Commission
• Once Metro Arts Commission approves the artist selection, MNAC staff works with artist to complete the project

Who participates?

To enhance the process of adding art to public spaces, Nashville’s public art program will include the community in its group meetings and public hearings. Ideas, thoughts, benefits and potential concerns will be derived from dialogue with key stakeholders, which may include:

City leadership

• Mayor
• Metro Council
• Metro departments, as appropriate, such as the site sponsor, Metro Parks and Recreation Department, Metro Development and Housing Agency, Metro Historical Commission, and Metro Public Works

Community

• Neighborhood groups
• Civic organizations
• Business associations
• Educators
• Nearby property owners

Design professionals

• Artists
• Architects
• Landscape architects
• Urban planners
• Engineers
• Building trade professionals

Others

• Media representatives
• Individuals from community cultural agencies
• Religious community

What form does Public Art take?

The form that public art can take is as open as the definitions of “art” itself. Public art may be:

• representational or abstract
• integrated with architecture or freestanding
• temporary or permanent
• placed inside or outside
• a single work or a whole plaza or park
• functional
• interactive
• educational
• symbolic
• commemorative

Public art may also:

• incorporate landscape elements
• employ technology, such as light, sound or motion

How are artists selected?

Nashville’s artist selection procedures are modeled after those of public art programs around the country. General procedures include:

• site-specific artist selection panel assembled for each project
• applicant pool developed according to Public Art Committee direction
• all artists and artworks selected through committee review process
• applicant pool varies according to project site, construction timeline and budget size, but usually begins with a general call to artists

On what criteria will selection of artists and proposed art be based?

Selection panel recommendations will be based upon criteria such as:

• artistic merit and quality of past work
• relevant experience working on a team
• suitability for current project
• maintenance issues and technical feasibility
• ability to meet budget and schedule
• diversity among public art forms, styles and in the artist pool

When will we see the first Public Art Project completed?

Alice Aycock’s sculpture, Ghost Ballet for the East Bank Machineworks, is expected to be installed on the East Bank Greenway near the Shelby Street pedestrian bridge in summer 2007.

What can citizens do to participate in Nashville’S Public Art initiatives?

• Stay informed about public art activities through the media
• Encourage Council members’ ongoing support of Nashville’s arts programming
• As projects are planned within your community, participate in citizen panels and your local neighborhood association.

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© 2009 Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission 800 2nd Avenue South, 4th Floor P.O. Box 196300 Nashville TN 37219-6300	arts@nashville.gov (615) 862-6720 fax (615) 862-6731
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