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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-07-017 - Public Art Program - Policy and Program Review 2007 ) ~ Community Services ~ Report To: Date of Meeting: Submitted By: Prepared By: Ward(s) Involved: Date of Report: Report No.: Subject: Community Services Committee January 29,2007 Ann Pappert, General Manager, Community Services ext#2394 Cheryl York, Arts/Culture Co-ordinator All January 22,2007 CSD-07 -017 RECOMMENDATION: For information and direction. Public Art Program - Policy and Program Review 2007 BACKGROUND: The purpose of this report is to provide an update regarding a review of our public art policies and the creation of a program plan (3 - 5 year plan); to receive direction for setting a moratorium on processing unsolicited art and design proposals until the policy review and program plan is completed (early 2008); and to comment on the current percent for art policy as it applies to public-private partnerships. REPORT: Current Situation The City's public art program has operated under the authority of the following policies: Public Art Policy (1-485); Percent for Art Policy (1-650); Art, Artefact and Acquisition Policy (1-340); and, Public Art Trust Fund (1-815). The Public Art Working Group's (PAWG) Terms of Reference is an additional document governing the advisory committee capacity of the program. The program strives to: · Encourage the participation of artists in the planning and design of public places; · Engage artists with the community; · Provide a fair, consistent and public selection process; and · Provide stewardship for the City's public art collection. The public art program is responsible for artworks created for specific public spaces located in permanent or semi permanent locations on city lands and/or city owned facilities (e.g. public parks, community centres, trails) and for works acquired (commissioned or donated) in the form of portable artworks that can be stored, displayed and managed (e.g. artwork hanging in City Hall). Need for review and establishment of a program plan The public art program has served our community for five years. During this time we built and monitored its capacity to serve the community. As with any policy periodic reviews are required. The following list highlights issues to be addressed in the review of our public art policies and managed within a public art program plan. Enaaaina artists and the Communitv in the olannina and desian of oublic olaces: · Need to develop and refine mechanisms to involve and collaborate with the private sector and institutional partners in creating public art opportunities. · Explore opportunities to further evolve community neighbourhood art projects (either temporary or permanent) within the public art policy and funding mechanism. Effective and Efficient use of resources · Advance shared results and make effective use of resources through greater alignments between interdepartmental and cross-sector projects (i.e. - projects arising from Parks and Open Space Master Plan; Urban Design Guidelines; Downtown Strategic Development Strategies; Downtown Streetscaping Master Plan.) · Review the current funding mechanism and recommend options to ensure the capacity and sustainability of the program. · Reconcile existing policies into a cohesive public art policy Fair and Consistent Public Selection Process · Provide a mechanism to address unsolicited proposals for monuments, memorials and other types of public art and design projects, donations and acquisitions for which the corporation acquires long-term legal and stewardship responsibilities. · Provide responses to requests for use of public space by non-City agencies or parties for the installation of public art. Stewardshio · Review and recommend levels of care for the corporate public art collection, and ensure the approval of policies related to collection management including: collection mandate, maintenance standards and procedures, a review of acquisition and deaccessioning policies and procedures, and · Create accessible public information materials and access to corporate artworks through a communication and tourism program. The Percent for Art Policy (1-650) (Appendix A, attached) has served the City well in its application to civic construction projects for new or retrofit facilities such as community centres, branch libraries, park redevelopment and other civic uses. As identified above, the policy is less well defined, and thus subject to interpretation, as it applies to partnered institutional projects that include space which is restricted from general public access. For example, referring to the percent for art policy, the policy states clearly that the City of Kitchener "will allocate 1% of the budget for construction costs of civic buildings or other civic projects intended for general public use, to a maximum of $300,000 to be used toward the commission of art to be displayed in public areas or as part of the building structure." The policy does not require the same of commercial or institutional projects as it further stipulates "that the City of Kitchener will encourage new commercial or institutional construction or renovation with values over one million dollars to allocate 1 % of the construction budget for the provision of public art. " However, further in the "Implementation" section, it states "In the instance of eligible shared budgets (City + partners), City presents 1% of its contribution and will encourage the other partners to match the contribution according to their ratio of involvement or to at least contribute on some level." It is unclear if this applies to new commercial or institutional projects for which the City is a partner, or whether it is intended to address public partnerships on civic buildings intended for general public use. Yet further, in Policy 1-650, Section "Implementation, 5) states that "Other agencies, private corporations and arms length organizations to whom the City has contributed construction loans and grants will be encouraged to implement the Percent for Art Policy through the Development and Technical Services Department with inquiries directed to Arts and Culture." Implementation is encouraged rather than mandated. A review of our public art policies is both timely and necessary to refine all policies and streamline its implementation to achieve interdepartmental and cross-sector goals, to ensure the maximum effectiveness of the financial investment of the city in the program, to establish further opportunities to partner with the private sector in the engagement of artists in the targeted projects which will enhance the identity of the city, and to make the best possible strategic use of our public spaces. In addition, we have an opportunity at this time to align the review of policies and program with the public art discussions underway at the Region. Request for Direction: Moratorium on Unsolicited Art and Design Proposals within the Public Sphere The majority of artwork within the City's public art collection is contemporary and has been acquired through competitive public selection processes (individual project competitions arising from the public art policy and the City's Artist-in-Residence program commissions). Notable exceptions to this are the Queen Victoria sculpture in Victoria Park (1907 donation), the historic Bullas sculptures (1998 direct acquisition), and the Kitchener Professional Firefighters' Association memorial (2006 donation). The City's inventory lists 29 artworks in the collection. Many of these are located in or around (exterior) City Hall. A further inventory of industrial artefacts lists over 100 items in storage awaiting a plan for their future. The City of Kitchener has occasionally acted upon donations of works of art and unsolicited proposals from individual artists and/or organizations seeking to create or locate artworks permanently within the public sphere. Like all art works acquired by the corporation, the long term stewardship and legal responsibilities of these acquisitions oblige the resources (human, financial and land/facility assets) of the corporation. Therefore, it is expected that the allocation of these resources would benefit most from a competitive, fair and public selection process. It is also known that the most effective stewardship for artwork in the public sphere comes from the 'ownership' or 'adoption' of the artwork by the immediate community in which the work is located. Examples from other cities show a reduction in graffiti, damage and vandalism to artworks located in public places if the immediate community has been involved in deciding upon the art selected. The acceptance of unsolicited art and design proposals, including those with private funding sources, circumvents the public process advocated in our policies. In some cases such projects may contribute to a sense of disconnection between artist and community or neighbourhood. To address these issues, staff seeks Council's consideration and direction in applying a moratorium on endorsing any further unsolicited art and design proposals until the completion of the review of the public art policy and plan, expected to be completed early in 2008. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS Review of public art policies and program is included in Community Services Department Capital budget forecast, 2007- 2009. CONCLUSION In order for the Public Art program to serve the community and respond to its changing context a periodic review is required. This may result in policy and program revisions that will be subject to Council's review and approval. The current policy will be assessed for relevance to our community's future capital projects, its goals and objectives. A newly created program plan, forecasting a three-year cycle of projects, will align and apply the public art program to strategic projects and appropriate funding sources. We propose to examine ways to evolve the scope of the policies and program to address the issues highlighted in this report and to ensure clarity in the application of and provision for opportunities for the private sector, public- private partnerships, community neighbourhood art projects and an array of public art opportunities that build community pride, vitality and expressions of our shared identity through public art. C. York, Arts/Culture Co-ordinator AP POLICY NUMBER: 1-650 DATE: March 20, 2001 August 27,2001 October 2, 2001 March 2004 POLICY TYPE: FINANCIAL SUBJECT: PERCENT FOR ART POLICY PURPOSE: This policy outlines the guidelines and procedures for integration of Public Art in civic construction projects via regulated public process in civic construction projects, as eligible. The City of Kitchener is committed to maintaining Public Art in its public facilities based the capacities of Public Art, to: 1- enhance and create relationships between populations and development 2 -link artists and communities at large through public process and input 3 - provide community identity 4 - develop creative expression and atmosphere 5 -present provoking enhancements produced by fair, informed, public process SCOP E: This policy serves public site users, neighbourhoods engaged with the relevant public sites and the arts community. City staff and Departments are also involved: Facilities, Facilities Management (FM) staff, Finance, Corporate Communications, Arts and Culture, Community Centres, Risk Management and Insurance staff. DEFINITIONS: Public Art is defined as artwork created specifically for public engagement and Designed for public locations. It is meant to endure and to have a relationship with the immediate community and beyond. *Please refer to the Public Art Policy 1-485 for complete Definitions. The Arts and Culture Advisory Committee (ACAC) is a committee of Council comprised of arts professionals and members of the community interested in arts and culture. The committee assesses recommendations from the public, evaluates grant applications, receives recommendations from the Public Art Working Group (PAWG) and advises Council according to its expertise. This committee is a resource and advisory assembly. The Public Art Working Group (PAWG) is a departmental working group of the Community Services Department comprised of arts professionals with a high level of expertise and experience, advising on the Rotunda Gallery Program, the Artist-In-Residence (AIR) Program, Acquisition, Donations and arts policies. THE POLICY: 1 - The City of Kitchener will allocate 1 % of the budget for construction costs of civic buildings or other civic projects intended for general public use, to a maximum of $300,000 to be used toward the commission of art to be displayed in public areas or as part of the building structure; and, 2 -That the Policy Implementation Guidelines apply this policy to new construction of and additions to civic buildings and civic projects having a construction budget of at least $100,000; and further, 3 - That the City of Kitchener encourage new commercial and institutional construction or renovation with values over one million dollars to allocate 1 % of the construction budget for the provision of public art; and, 4 - That the standard for public art found in the most recent Urban Design Manual (UDM) be used to provide assistance in determining location and selection of theme, kind and nature of the art form; with the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee to be available as a resource in this regard; and further; That City of Kitchener Facilities Management Department will incorporate the request that the UDM standards accompany the "% for Art Policy" sent out in all eligible Requests For Proposals (RFPs). 5 - That the Public Art Working Group be actively involved with the community in discussions relating to project theme. 6 - That PAWG co-determine with Arts and Culture Coordinator if the materials/budget selected by the community is feasible based on project scope, timelines, cost. 7 - That a representative from PAWG or designate be involved with the design process for all new civic facilities at the earliest possible point, to maintain: a) the option to integrate the artwork with the building structure b) input regarding a location with maximized public exposure City Facilities Management staff and involved parties will include a PAWG representative and Arts Co-ordinator during the Conceptual Stage of development wherever possible. POLICY IMPLEMENTATION: 1. The Percent for Art Policy applies to projects as follows: a) The policy applies to new construction of and additions to civic buildings and civic projects. b) New civic construction/additions are only considered if the construction budget is of a value greater than $100,000. c) The policy applies to construction/additions that are intended for general public use. For example, it applies generally to: i) fire stations ii) arenas iii) community centres iv) major buildings (central yards) v) libraries vi) swimming pools vii) other staffed City buildings and locations viii) sportsfields ix) open spaces as follows: - active parks with recreational facilities - possibility of artwork in open spaces if deemed appropriate by Parks Management - developers encouraged to match or contribute over and above the City's 1 % For sportsfields and parks, it is requested that eligible funds be accumulated by Finance until area is ready for development of site- specific project by Arts Coordinator and Parks Management. This policy does not apply to road works or other service infrastructure projects (e.g. roads, sewers, etc.) 2) Projects identified during the annual budget process will include a line item for the Percent for Art Policy. Funds allocated to the Percent for Art Policy will be applied to artist projects specific to the site where the construction/addition is taking place. 3) Financial Services Department will send notice to Community Services Department (Arts and Culture Coordinator) listing the projects, their total construction budget and the amount budgeted to Percent for Art. 4) Once identified, the Arts and Culture will manage the project to include the following: the internal and external communication process of involving an artist in the planning stages, co-ordinating the communications plan announcing a competition via regulated public process, and orchestrating the local/provincial/federal competition for this art commission. FM Project Manager will endorse and sign off on installation/technical elements of project. FM will participate on the jury wherever possible for continuity. 5) Other agencies, private corporations and arms length organizations to whom the City has contributed construction loans and grants will be encouraged to implement the Percent for Art Policy through the Development and Technical Services Department. Inquiries may be directed to the Co-ordinator of Arts and Culture. In the instance of eligible shared budgets (City + partners), City presents 1 % of its contribution and will encourage the other partners to match the contribution according to their ratio of involvement, or to at least contribute on some level. % for Art Policy and UDM Guidelines for Public Art will be included in the RFP. For public projects shared between City and provincial/federal funding, these partners will also be encouraged to match funds or contribute in addition to the City's 1 %. 6) PAWG will maintain a membership involving some members with Architecture/Planning technical background. Members will advise the Arts Coordinator who will manage the competition. The Coordinator and PAWG will apply tailor each competition according to budget, timeline (including discretion to determine the size of the call-for-entry i.e. national, local or by invitation from public lists). The Coordinator will administrate juries. PAWG and Arts Coordinator will design competition fees/artist fees based on professional rates. 7) Recommended jury composition for larger projects as managed by Arts : a) Ward Council member b) Non-voting Arts Co-ordinator c) Non-voting Jury Chair (selected by Arts Coordinator, paid if not Committee member; tiebreaker if necessary) d) PAWG member e) Local artist of distinction f) ArchitecV landscape architect of site g) Active member of site community/neighbourhood h) Project Manager (FM)