The document discusses the City of Houston's civic art process and funding sources. It explains that the Houston Arts Alliance manages the commissioning and acquisition of artworks for the city through contracts with various city departments. Funding comes from a 1.75% allocation of capital improvement budgets, with additional funds possible. Successful civic art projects require collaboration between various groups. It provides examples of civic art commissions and recommends involving the Arts Alliance early in the design process to integrate art appropriately. Other potential funding sources for public art are also listed.

1. civic art + design
funding for commissions and
acquisitions
Houston Arts Alliance

2. sara kellner
director of civic art + design

3. 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

4. How the City of Houston
Civic Art Process Works

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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%.

8. 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.

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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.

14. george r. brown convention
center commissions

20. BARC Adoption Center

22. southwest airlines
international terminal at
hobby airport

27. Down Periscope by Donald
Lipski at Buffalo Bayou

30. The Houston Oracle in Two
Parts by Stephen Korns

34. Jay Shinn at Terminal D

37. Bert Samples’ Malcolm Marco Malcolm Marco
at the Deluxe Theater
Example of donated artwork

38. Another
Approach:
Temporary
Public Art

40. 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/

41. “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

42. “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.”

43. 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

44. Thank you!
Sara Kellner
Director of Civic Art + Design
sara@haatx.com
questions