RACC Press Releases
January 11, 2006
Portland City Council Approves 2% for Art
After a year of review including an audit of its own Percent for Art program, Portland City Council unanimously approved revisions to the Public Art ordinance, and increased the percent for art allocation from 1.33% to 2%, at its January 11th meeting. Most of this increase is dedicated to maintaining the City's $6.8 million public art collection. The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) administers this program.
The revised ordinance (chapter 5.74, “Acquisition of Public Art”) mandates that publicly funded capital construction projects must allocate 2% to the selection, acquisition, fabrication, installation, and maintenance of public art. The ordinance also lowers the eligibility threshold from $100,000 to $50,000 so that small city projects produce modest contributions to buy portable works, and includes 2% of purchase price of buildings to reflect the fact that sometimes it makes sense for the City to buy instead of build. At the recommendation of the City Auditor, the ordinance emphasizes that most City bureaus and commissions are required to participate; clarifies the eligible budget costs to which the ordinance will be applied; and charges RACC and the City’s Office of Management and Finance to report annually on how each bureau is participating.
The City’s Percent for Art program was established in 1980, with an allocation of 1%. In 1989, the City increased the allocation to 1.33%. Multnomah County’s Percent for Art program, also administered by RACC, has a similar history, but as yet remains at 1.33%.
“Over the past 25 years, these investments by the City of Portland have generated one of the most acclaimed public art programs in the country,” said Commissioner Sam Adams. “The changes City Council approved today will ensure Portland remains a model for the next twenty-five.”
The combined collections consist of permanent and temporary artworks in public buildings, along city streets, and throughout parks and other public spaces. Smaller scale works, known as the Portable Works Collection, are rotated through City and County facilities in publicly accessible locations. The collections contain almost 2,000 portable, permanently sited, and architecturally integrated public artworks by established and emerging regional artists as well as artists of national and international acclaim. Public art has contributed significantly to vibrant and animated urban spaces throughout Portland.
For more background on the ordinance, please contact Jesse Beason in Commissioner Sam Adams' office 503-823-4128 or visit the Commissioner’s website, www.CommissionerSam.com. For more background on public art in the City of Portland, which is managed and maintained by the Regional Arts & Culture Council, call 503.823.5111 or visit www.racc.org/publicart. RACC’s website includes a Public Art Inventory Database Search and a Public Art Walking Tour brochure (pdf) featuring a detailed map of public art in downtown Portland and the near eastside.
Through vision, leadership and service the Regional Arts
& Culture Council works to integrate arts and culture in all aspects of
community life.
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RACC Staff to Contact
Jeff Hawthorne
Director of Community Affairs
503.823.5258
jhawthorne@racc.org
Mary Bauer
Communications Associate
503.823.5426
mbauer@racc.org
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