Since the Public Art Advisory Commission was formed in 2002, its members have aimed at buying or leasing a new piece of sculpture and commissioning a new mural each year.
But now a proposal has been hatched that could speed up the acquisition of new public art in Oak Park.
The commission has created a draft ordinance for the village board’s consideration that would force new developments and major rehab projects to include 1 percent of their budgets for public art.
“We have for quite some time thought about how we could have a steady stream of money to pay for public art in the village,” said Nick Bridge, who chairs the commission.
The program would require projects with budgets of $1 million or more to pay for public art.
“It doesn’t necessarily all go right into a fund,” Bridge said. “It could be a situation where a developer purchases a piece with our approval that goes onto a site.”
The key decisions, Bridge says, will be the numbers: Are 1 percent and $1 million the right ones? That will be for the village board to decide. “What they do with [the recommendation] is up to them,” Bridge said. He expects the recommendation will go before the board within a month.
Village President David Pope said the topic has come up in discussions between the board and the commission in the past and some trustees favor the idea.
“Clearly we’ve seen some buildings go up in the past five years that, some of which, leave a bit to be desired [esthetically],” Pope said. An art program that would improve esthetics would “certainly be good for the community.”
The “Percent for Art” idea is common. Chicago’s program, enacted in 1978, has produced the landmark Picasso and Calder sculptures in the Loop, and the new “Bean” and face-covered Crown Fountains in Millennium Park.
The state of Oregon’s program dates back to 1975 and requires setting aside “not less than 1 percent of the direct construction funds of new or remodeled state buildings with construction budgets of $100,000 or greater for the acquisition of art work.”
The Oak Park proposal would affect the construction or renovation of private buildings, with residential buildings with four or fewer units exempted. Bridge noted that the proposal, drawn up by the lawyers on the commission, is “not final by any means.”
He met with the Business Association Council for feedback and said its members were more interested in the possibility of fast-tracking the permit process for projects paying into the art program.
“We really haven’t figured out how to do that yet,” Bridge said.
Working with a $70-80,000 annual budget, the commission has purchased public sculptures such as “Innerchange,” on the southeast corner of Oak Park Avenue and North Boulevard, which sold for $25,000. It also vets public art programs, such as last summer’s Pigs on Parade in The Avenue Business District.
Bridge said there are plenty of tangible reasons to promote adding public art to the village. “But I think the real reason is it makes our environment a more interesting and pleasant place to live.”
CONTACT: dcarter@wjinc.com