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Celebrating 25 Years of Percent for Art

Echo Gate, 2001 on Eastback Esplanade

Publicly-owned sculptures, painting, photographs and prints as well as temporary installations can come about in several ways: Percent for Art programs, civic gifts, or donations from private developers. Over 500 artworks have been purchased and/or commissioned since 1980, when both the City of Portland and Multnomah County passed ordinances requiring that one percent of publicly funded capital construction budgets be set aside for public art. Later, that percent was raised to 1.33% to cover maintenance and administration.

RACC is responsible for commissioning, selecting, and maintaining these public artworks. Other agencies also contract with RACC to provide these services for a specific project, including Metro, the Port of Portland, and private developers. Tri Met, the cities of Beaverton and Lakes Oswego, and Clackamas County administer public art programs as well that contribute to the livability of their communities. The programs’ ambitions and accomplishments have been shaped and molded over the past twenty-five years with input from artists, architects, arts advocates and the general public. This rich community blend of resources continues to provide the program with impressive critical thinking, notable creativity and generally hard work that has, in turn, provided the foundation for Portland’s national reputation for public art.

Results of the region’s first percent for art project debuted in 1983 with the opening of the Multnomah County Justice Center on SW 3rd Avenue. Works by ten artists grace the building’s interiors and exteriors, and include pieces by Bonnie Bronson, Louis Bunce, Ed Carpenter, Walter Dusenberry, Judith Fawkes, Bruce Forster (Police Bureau), Anne Johnson, Liz Mapelli, Alden Mason, and Tim O’Neill. The most recently completed percent for art project, a partnership with Metro Regional Government, Multnomah County and the Port of Portland, incorporates artwork into the landscape resulting in multiple artworks and habitat enhancements by the team of Fernanda D’Agostino and Valerie Otani at the Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area.

Twenty-five years after the ordinance was passed, we invite you to celebrate with us the extraordinary artworks that we all own together. RACC has created a few tools to help you learn more about – and enjoy – your collection.

On June 6, RACC and the Portland Oregon Visitors Association will release a new Public Art Walking Tour map/brochure – a colorful guide to nearly 100 public art pieces in downtown Portland and the near eastside. This free brochure will be available at Portland-area visitor centers, or by calling RACC at 503.823.5111. You can also obtain an electronic copy by emailing us at info@racc.org or visiting www.racc.org/walkingtour.

While the Walking Tour Brochure focuses on the city center, public art can be found in neighborhoods throughout our community – from the Multnomah East Building in Gresham to a Health Clinic in St. John’s to a Community Center and a Police Precinct in East Portland.

A new online Public Art Inventory Database Search system is now available for users to identify and find the locations of artists’ work in the City of Portland and Multnomah County collection. The database offers the opportunity to obtain a list of and/or view both temporary and permanent site specific artworks as well as find the locations of nearly one thousand Portable Works sited in various publicly accessible offices and two hundred and twenty-five works on paper that are part of the Visual Chronicle of Portland Collection managed by RACC. To learn more, visit www.racc.org/PubArtSearch (this site is currently under a technical upgrade and will be available in October, 2005).

From August 16-September 12 RACC will present the exhibit Celebrating 25 Years of Percent for Art: 1980-2005 iat the Concourse Level, Rotunda Building at Pioneer Place. Over 500 photographs of artworks commissioned/purchased as part of the City’s and County’s Percent for Art Programs will be featured (as pictured below).

Constallation, 2000, Holladay Park

On September 22, as part of RACC's year long celebration of Public Art, the historic Skidmore Fountain (dedicated in 1888) will be rededicated after a thorough restoration by RACC's maintenance crew. Citizens and leaders of Portland will attend. Located at First and SW Ankeny. 3pm. Call RACC at 503.823.5111 for more information.

Look for more information as we celebrate our region’s extraordinary Public Art Collection and raise awareness for the Percent for Art Program.

In the meantime, we invite you to re-acquaint yourself with this exceptional public art collection found throughout our community – in parks, public buildings, transit corridors and street corners – and we’d love to hear about your experiences. Send your thoughts, questions, and photographs to the Regional Arts & Culture Council, 108 NW 9th Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, Oregon 97209, or email us at info@racc.org. We want to learn more about how YOU celebrate your public art!

> For more information about the history of the Public Art Program, read Growing A Public Art Program (SculpturesPacific Magazine, Summer 2005) on our website.

> Visit RACC's Online Public Art Database (This database is undergoing some technical upgrade and will be available early October, 2005)

> Download the Public Art Walking Tour Brochure (PDF)

> Artists who are interested in receiving Public Art RFPs and Prospectuses can sign up for the Public Art Listserve

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RACC Staff to Contact:

Eloise Damrosch
Executive Director
503.823.5400
edamrosch@racc.org

Kristin Law Calhoun
Public Art Manager
503.823.5401
kcalhoun@racc.org

Peggy Kendellen
Public Art Manager
503.823.4196
pkendellen@racc.org