Austin City Council will consider changes in September to the Art in Public Places program. The changes could expand where publicly-funded artwork can be located, apply new requirements to some public-private partnership projects and allow more flexibility in using funds for maintenance and relocation. The Art In Public Places (AIPP) program, created in 1985, allocates […]
Art In Public Places
Since 1985 this program has worked to install public art throughout the city. Under city statute, two percent of eligible capital improvement project budgets is directed towards art for the site. The public art collection that results from this program can be seen at places like the airport, city hall, libraries, parks and streetscapes.
Posted inCity Hall
City to help preserve artworks threatened by convention center teardown
The city appears to have solutions to save a group of artworks installed in the Austin Convention Center that were in danger of being destroyed as the demolition and reconstruction of the facility moves forward. Late last month, artist John Yancey, whose Riffs & Rhythms mural was at the centerpiece of the controversy, informed the […]
Posted inCity Council
City pauses $10M in airport art over concerns local creatives were excluded
The city has paused three significant public art contracts intended for the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport expansion, in a move that may signal a reconsideration of how prominently the city should promote local artists in major public spaces. Three contract approvals totaling more than $10 million have been pulled from next week’s City Council agenda, following […]
Posted inCity Council
Prompted by convention center controversy, Council seeks changes to public art program
In response to increasing scrutiny over Austin’s handling of public art, City Council voted Thursday to modernize the Art in Public Places program by updating policies to prevent mishandlings like the controversial deaccessioning of artwork at the Austin Convention Center. The resolution, which was approved on the consent agenda, follows a heated debate over the […]
Posted inCity Council
Council OKs plan to remove, demolish artwork as part of convention center rebuild
Four large murals and art installations from local artists will be removed from the Austin Convention Center and destroyed ahead of the facility’s forthcoming demolition and reconstruction, despite calls from the artists and supporters to find a way to preserve the works. At Thursday’s meeting, City Council approved a plan for the deaccession of eight […]
Posted inAustin
Arts Commission wants convention center installations preserved ahead of demolition
The Arts Commission wants the city to push the Austin Convention Center to pay for and assist in the removal and preservation of four city-commissioned art installations that are at risk of being destroyed when the facility is torn down next spring. At Monday’s meeting, the commission approved a request to City Council asking for […]
Posted inAustin
Citing disrepair, Council removes public artworks from display
Art left out in the elements doesn’t last forever. That’s why City Council just delisted five worn-out pieces of public art, including the Bicentennial Fountain at Vic Mathias Shores; LAB, the series of yellow sculptures along the Lance Armstrong Bikeway; and Moments, the enigmatic work along the Lamar underpass downtown. Though the pieces will no longer […]
Posted inAustin
The ‘Moment’ has passed. Austin’s most controversial public artwork might be coming down
Frank Wick remembers the first time he drove through the underpass on Lamar and saw the blue panels on the walls. “It felt like it was art; I wasn’t sure. It was a nice moment,” said Wick, a collection manager for the city’s Art in Public Places program. “No pun intended.” It is art – […]
Posted inCity Hall
Commission sends back public art guidelines
The city’s Art in Public Places guidelines are being revised this year for improved legibility, formatting and a stronger focus on equity. They have not been updated since 2004 and most of the changes are uncontroversial, but the Arts Commission was unwilling to approve the edits Monday after noticing some flaws in the proposed language. […]
Posted inParks
To save a sculpture, parks department gives Chicano artist an ultimatum
For decades, Big Rock – or Chicano Rock, as it is now called – has stood on the southeast corner of Waterloo Park. Created by artist David Santos and members of LUCHA (League of United Chicano Artists) in 1989, the hand-carved limestone sculpture is an ongoing project that has now come to the attention of […]
Posted inAustin
Imposing owls may soon nest near Butterfly Bridge
You may soon notice two pairs of orange, warm glowing orbs peeking over the new Butterfly Bridge downtown after it is complete, at least if the Arts Commission approves two gigantic owls to greet Austinites and tourists. The New American Public Art studio presented the two nocturnal art sculptures to the Art in Public Places […]
Posted inCity Hall
Arts panel faces procedural misstep
On Monday, the Art in Public Places panel felt caught in the middle of a procedural misstep taken by the Austin Public Library Friends Foundation, which wanted donated art installed at the new Central Library. John Gillum, the library facilities planning manager, said the Austin Public Library Friends Foundation has raised money for a 20-by-20-foot […]