Report of the Council Committee on Public Art Efforts

October 22, 2007

This committee was charged with the responsibility of evaluating various administrative options for sustaining and improving Chapel Hill’s commitment to enriching our civic environment through public art.  Our deliberations have been informed by a study of organization models prevalent among a variety of municipalities in the United States, consultation with representatives of the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission and with the Town Manager, and attention to the special characteristics of the Chapel Hill context.

We believe that a successful organizational arrangement is one that:

Currently the Town Council delegates shared responsibility for administering public art to the Public Arts Commission, an independent 501 (c) (3) corporation.  The Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission has a distinguished record of advising the town on matters of public art, coordinating implementation of the Percent for Art ordinance, and creating a variety of popular art initiatives made possible through operating funds appropriated by the town. The Commission’s organizational history and program initiatives are summarized in Attachment A.

In 2006, the Town Council commissioned a study by the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission of strategies that should be considered to produce a municipal public art program which could be even more appealing, as well as more efficient and cost-effective.  With the assistance of a public art consultant, the commission developed the “Chapel Hill Public Art Contextual Plan,” which is now pending before the Town Council for review and action.  One of the major proposals advanced by the Contextual Plan is the creation of synergistic relationships between the commission and relevant Town departments to promote collaborative examination of opportunities for including public art within a wide variety of municipal projects.  It is anticipated that by involving arts professionals and public art proponents in the early stages of municipal planning processes it would be possible to broaden the conventional definition and incidence of public art within the municipal infrastructure.  Streetscapes, parks, transportation facilities and public housing all could be rendered more appealing through artistic additions to otherwise standard undertakings, at relatively modest cost.  Success would depend on effective sharing of information, vision, expertise and support among key participants during project development and implementation.

Regardless of what disposition the Town Council may make of other proposals embodied in the Contextual Plan, we believe that the proposal for focusing broadly based attention on public art options in the municipal programs and services has great merit and should be pursued.  To succeed, we recommend that all of the complementary public art functions previously discharged by the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission be incorporated within the direct purview of Town government.  As a separate legal entity, the commission is not now positioned optimally for contributing to the requisite collaborative process. By fully embracing public art administration as a function of town government, essential integration of communication and coordination could be best assured.

We recommend that the Town Council create a new infrastructure, clearly identified by purpose, budget and staff as a distinct but integral component of Town government, for promoting, developing and implementing public art, as follows:

  1. Establish the positions of (1) “Public Arts Administrator” (replacing the currently vacant position of Executive Director of the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission) and (2) an assistant to the Public Arts Administrator (comparable to the current position of Public Arts Coordinator of the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission, with job description, pay grade and identity to be determined by the Town Manager in consultation with the Public Arts Administrator), as Town employees to be hired by the Town Manager, subject to the Town personnel ordinance and policies, with the Public Arts Administrator supervised by the Town Manager.
  2. Create a Town commission of citizen volunteers, appointed by the Town Council and denominated the “Public Arts Commission,” to advise the Town Manager, the Public Arts Administrator and the Town Council in formulating public art policy and assist in implementing public art programs.  To capitalize on their accumulated knowledge and experience and to facilitate appropriate continuity in current public art programming, we recommend that the present members of the board of directors of the 501 (c) (3) corporation known as the “Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission” who are willing to continue their service be appointed as the initial members of the newly constituted Public Arts Commission; such persons would serve in that capacity for terms coextensive with the unexpired balance of their respective currently prescribed terms as members of the board of directors of the 501 (c) (3) corporation, or until replaced by other Town Council appointees, whichever occurs first.
  3. Provide that within six months and again on the second anniversary of the implementation of actions 1 and 2 above, a committee consisting of Town Council members designated by the Council, the Town Manager or his designee, the Public Arts Administrator, and representatives of the Public Arts Commission be convened to evaluate and propose any necessary or desirable modifications to the public art infrastructure.  The committee analysis should include consideration of the lines of authority and reporting responsibility between the Public Arts Administrator and the Town Manager, or other Town officials;the inclusion of public art functions within any cluster of programs and activities for which the Town has responsibility, as may be proposed or implemented by the Town Manager; the size, composition and functions of the Public Arts Commission; and the scope and variety of the public arts mission.
  4. In addition, we recognize that publicly accessible arts programming of the breadth and quality to which the Town of Chapel Hill properly should aspire cannot be realized through sole reliance on funding from the Town budget. Therefore, we hope that a vigorous and sustained Town government commitment to public art will inspire private citizens and organizations to complement our efforts with their own charitable projects that would further enrich the civic environment.  To that end, we recommend that the Town support, in any way appropriate and practicable, the announced intention of the directors of the 501 (c) (3) corporation known as the “Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission” to maintain that private corporate entity as a charitable agency organized, as prescribed in its Articles of Incorporation, “to enhance and enliven the community through art in public places.”  To assist that mission, we suggest that the Town consider providing the corporation with a Town address for its nominal principal office, donating occasional clerical assistance, and providing a suitable grant of initial operating funds.  If the directors of the corporation so offer, the Town should welcome an opportunity for minority ex officio membership of specified Town officials and/or employees on the board of directors of the corporation.  To avoid possible confusion, we suggest that the corporate directors be asked to amend the name of the corporation so that it is distinguishable from the name of the municipal Public Arts Commission.

Positioning public art as the responsibility of a discrete unit within the Town infrastructure would maintain its essential visibility and demonstrate clearly the municipal commitment to public art as integral to the Town’s development.  Such an arrangement would facilitate effective collaboration with key town departments and staff.  Positioned in that way, the public art program also could fit appropriately with organizational changes being introduced by the Town Manager, in which functional areas are established that draw together multiple departments with related and mutual interests.  The new arrangement also would insure that members of the volunteer commission have meaningful opportunities to participate in policy formulation and program implementation, so that their enthusiasm for participation is preserved and attendant cost savings are realized through their work in supplementing the efforts of paid staff members.  Finally, it would be possible to sustain the current capacity to raise funds in the private sector if a 501 (c) (3) charitable entity were maintained.