civic art + designfunding for commissions and

acquisitions

Houston Arts Alliance

sara kellnerdirector of civic art + design

What this talk will cover

•How the City of Houston Civic Art Process works

•How Civic Art funds generated by the Percent for Art Ordinance works

•Lessons learned

•Other funding opportunities

•Where to go to learn national best practices in Civic art

How the City of Houston Civic Art Process Works

Houston Arts Alliance, through its Civic Art + Design department, manages the process of commissioning, acquiring and conserving artworks for the City of Houston’s art collection.

HAA accomplishes this by entering into contracts with the General Services Department, Houston Airport System and Houston First Corporation. Civic art projects thus constitute a collaboration between HAA and City of Houston departments and corporate entities.

Funding for civic art comes primarily from the 1.75% civic art allocation included in the budgets of City of Houston Capital Improvement Program projects for vertical construction. A City department may also elect to allocate funds to a civic art project over and above the mandated 1.75%.

HAA does not control the City’s civic art funds. The funds are held by the City Finance Department until a City department decides to expend them. At that time, HAA works with the relevant department, GSD and the project architect to scope the project.

What does this really mean? • If your firm is contracted to design a City of Houston

facility, Civic Art dollars are very likely to be available

• Recommend that your firm include HAA Civic Art + Design department in the schematic design phase; this will assure that the Civic Art project will be designed to work for the building and for the Client.

• Civic art funding amount is determined by GSD and the Client department based on the accumulated funds available to that particular department

The key to a successful COH Civic Art project is collaboration between the following:

• General Services Department and the assigned project manager

• The Client Department Director and the assigned project manager

• The Architect

• Houston Arts Alliance Civic Art + Design

• The selected artist or artist/team

• The Contractor

• Contractor’s Subs

Lessons learned

• Setting up planning meetings early on is key to a successful and smoothly managed project

• Planning the Civic Art project early on saves time and money. It also assures artwork that works well with the building. It cuts back on change orders later in the project.

• Rushing the selection process and starting the process late leads to expensive and headache-inducing challenges down the road

• It takes time to get everyone on board

commissioning process

• Request for Qualifications, reviewed by a panel of arts experts, client representative and often the architect

• Request for Proposals, reviewed by a panel of arts experts and client representative

• Approval by Civic Art Committee and HAA Board of Directors

• Final approval by Client

• Artist is commissioned to create the proposed work

For more information

Go to the Civic Art + Design section of the Houston Arts Alliance website: www.houstonartsalliance.com for detailed information on Civic Art process, policies and procedures.

george r. brown convention center commissions

BARC Adoption Center

southwest airlines international terminal at hobby airport

Down Periscope by Donald Lipski at Buffalo Bayou

The Houston Oracle in Two Parts by Stephen Korns

Jay Shinn at Terminal D

Bert Samples’ Malcolm Marco Malcolm Marco at the Deluxe Theater

Example of donated artwork

Another Approach:

Temporary Public Art

Other funding sources (only for non profits) • The National Endowment for the Arts

• Houston Arts Alliance

• Texas Commission on the Arts

• Artplace

• Other cities with percent for art ordinances

• Client funding

• The Project for Public Spaces has a detailed outline of funding sources and strategies: http://www.pps.org/reference/artfunding/

“Securing adequate funding is the cornerstone of any public art program. Aside from donations from private individuals and corporations, there are a number of approaches through which to garner financial support for art. These ways can be broken into four broad tracts: public/private sector endeavors; percent- and non-percent-for-art programs; developer participation; and local funding sources.

Public/Private Sector Collaborations

Percent- and Non-Percent-for-Art Programs

Soliciting Participation from Developers

Alternate Funding Sources”

From The Project for Public Spaces

“Public/Private Sector Collaborations: On the non-development side, opportunities for public art could be nurtured as part of the ongoing, existing local programs. A city or business could partner with these organizations to involve artists in:

• Designing gardens and plantings;

• Creating destinations in green spaces, along paths and at nodes, anchoring spaces for rest, recreation, play, and gathering;

• Installing art exhibits in vacant storefronts to improve a building’s — and neighborhood’s — overall image;

• Encouraging local museums to loan out works of public art for temporary placement throughout the downtown; and

• Hosting exhibits in publicly accessible places, including municipal, state, and federal buildings.”

National best practices

Americans for the Arts Public Art Network (PAN) develops professional services for the broad array of individuals and organizations engaged in the diverse field of public art.

Their website includes:

•A searchable database of public art projects

•Guide to best practices in artist selection

•Sample RFQs, RFP’s and artists agreements

Thank you!

Sara Kellner Director of Civic Art + Design sara@haatx.com

questions