Public Art Policy

Section 1: What the City wants from public art activity

Introduction

Wellington City Council is committed to supporting arts activities to create and sustain opportunities to ensure the city and suburbs are vibrant, engaging and dynamic.

Public art is the most visible and accessible form of art and is integral to what makes Wellington a stimulating and inviting place to be. It is a key indicator of a city’s creativity, openness and quality of life.

Public art performs an important social function by reflecting a city’s heritage and also its cultural diversity. Public art can shape regional identity – creating a sense of belonging and improving the look and feel of our public places.

Public art also has an important role in social and economic change. It stimulates new thinking and activity that directly inspires innovative new businesses and social activity.

Public art can also be critical, provocative and can generate discussion about our cities and how we live in them.

Public Art Vision

Wellington City Council will continue to support and encourage public art activity that is of a high artistic standard and that promotes Wellington as a dynamic and culturally diverse city.

Purpose

The Public Art Policy outlines eight desired outcomes for public art activity. These express Wellington’s commitment to the role of public art in the overall strategic planning of the city. They will also contribute to the implementation of Towards 2040: Smart Capital and the Arts and Culture Strategy.

The policy identifies a set of outcomes for public artworks to achieve, and how this will be done. It also covers:
criteria for approving new public art activities
criteria for accepting donated/gifted works
criteria for relocating existing works
criteria for deaccessioning existing works
maintenance and asset management
monitoring and evaluation

Definition

What is public art?
The policy refers to public art as an activity so that it captures all art forms that take place in a public space. Public art activity is defined here to include permanent, temporary and performance art, and the
conceptual contribution of an artist to the design of public spaces.

Public art activity encompasses:
artists contributing to the thinking and design of public places and spaces
art concepts and/or art works and/or design features integrated into urban design developments (including buildings, streets and parks)
artists working in and with communities in public spaces
art processes and artworks in the public sphere that may be variously described as sculpture, murals, street-art, performance, new-genre public art, relational aesthetics, and/or installations.

The Public Art Policy does not cover:
Wellington City Council City Art collection – a collection of artworks situated within Council buildings covered by the Furnishing Art Collection Policy
privately owned works
events covered by the Events Strategy
advertising/billboards located in public space
anything on private land
impromptu public art activity

Scope

Wellington City Council represents the citizens of Wellington in the facilitation, approval, management and maintenance of public art activities.

The policy applies to the assessment of public art proposals including gifts/donations, and addresses the relocation, deaccessioning, maintenance and monitoring of public artworks.

Proposals for public art activities can originate from a variety of sources including:
individual artists
arts organisations (for eg Wellington Sculpture Trust)
private individuals or entities (for eg gifts, donations, commissions)
Councillors
various teams within the Council (including Council’s City Arts team)

Projects from these sources must go through the same assessment process to ensure they achieve the desired public art outcomes.

Outcomes

The following outcomes form the basis for the approval and prioritisation of public art activities in Wellington City. These outcomes are derived from the strategic priorities of:
Towards 2040: Smart Capital, 2011
Arts and Culture Strategy, December 2011
Central City Framework, December 2011
Long Term Plan, 2012/2022
The District Plan, 2010

Wellington’s public art activities will be fresh and innovative
Wellington’s public art activities give the city a dynamic edge, making it visually stimulating and interesting, and contribute to the perception of the city as a place of creativity and innovation.

Wellington City Council will support public art activity that is fresh, new, experimental and innovative.

Public art activities in Wellington’s suburban centres enhance sense of place
Over the past 25 years public art activity has largely been concentrated in the central city. The Council would like to see this creative attention shared with the city’s suburbs, to enhance their unique identities. Public art activity can contribute to a ‘love of the local’ and a sense of place for suburban centres,
contributing to more confident suburban identities.

Wellington City Council will support public art activities that take place in the suburbs and enhance local identity, reinvigorating public spaces and generating a sense of belonging.

Māori whakapapa1 and history are expressed in Wellington’s public art activity
Wellington City Council recognises mana whenua and the past, present and future relationship of Māori with Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

Wellington City Council will encourage artworks that include input from mana whenua and that aim to foster awareness, understanding and knowledge of local Māori whakapapa and history.

The city’s diverse communities are represented through public art activities
Public art activities can play an important role in representing and celebrating Wellington’s varied communities – it can recognise, comment on and support their culture.

Wellington City Council will support public art activities that create opportunities and visibility for the city’s diverse communities.

Wellingtonians are more engaged in the development of public art activity
While drafting the Arts and Culture Strategy, the Council received feedback from the public that they would like more involvement in the city’s arts and culture projects.

Wellington City Council will support projects that increase the level of public engagement in the development of public art activity. For example, a professional artist may work with a community to facilitate the development of an artwork, or residents may be informed about an upcoming permanent public artwork.

The city’s public infrastructure integrates art concepts and/or design features and/or physical artworks
To ensure an integrated approach, it is important that public art is considered at the start of an infrastructure or open space design (re)development project.

Wellington City Council will incorporate public art activities, where appropriate, as a means for telling the city's stories in public space design and adding a strong visual aesthetic. This may involve an artist conceptually contributing to the design, influencing the design palette or producing a temporary or permanent physical artwork or series of artworks for the site.

Initiate and implement programmes to communicate and educate people about Wellington’s public art activity
To increase access to and understanding of the city’s collection of public artworks it is important that programmes are designed to communicate and educate residents and visitors to the city about this
activity.

Wellington City Council will support projects that look at new ways to communicate and educate people about Wellington’s public art activity.

1 The Māori term ‘whakapapa’ is used to describe genealogies, and the many spiritual, mythological and human stories that flesh out the genealogical backbone.

Public art activities directly contribute to social and economic change and urban/suburban revitalisation in Wellington
There is now a broader understanding of the role of public art from making a city look good to the ways it can contribute to social and economic change and urban/suburban revitalisation. For example public
art activities can take place in disused public spaces bringing a new community into that space.

Wellington City Council will support public art activity that directly contributes to social and economic change and urban/suburban revitalisation in the city.

Section 2: Achieving public art outcomes

2.1	Partnerships

Wellington City Council will work closely with organisations, tertiary institutions and members of the community interested in and involved in the development of Wellington’s public art.

The Council’s particular focus includes working in partnership with the Wellington Sculpture Trust, Mana Whenua organisations and Wellington Waterfront Ltd.

Council will work with its key partners to draft Memorandums of Understanding that will outline working processes to ensure an integrated approach to the development of public art activity.

The Council’s City Arts team should be the first point of contact for public art activities. This is to make it easier for the Council, its partners and others to work together to deliver high-quality public artwork.

Assessment Process for public art activities

The Council’s City Arts team should receive applications for public art activity proposals on public space and proposals seeking support from Council, whether from:
the Public Art Fund (administered and managed by the City Arts team)
a Council grant (for eg Creative Communities or general grants2)
the Council’s operational or capital expenditure budgets
support in principle or advocacy for public art activity

The City Arts team will assess proposals it receives in collaboration with Council’s Public Art Panel to ensure they meet the criteria and reflect the outcomes for public art activity.

Public Art Panel

The Public Art Panel (PAP) is made up of experts in various arts fields. Five Council officers sit on the PAP – the Chair, Manager City Arts team and PAP Administrator, Arts Advisor also from the City Arts team, the officer responsible for maintenance of public artworks, the manager of Treaty Relations and a representative from the Urban Design team. At least three members of the PAP are independent - one from City Gallery Wellington, the other recommended by Mana Whenua and the third an expert appointed to balance the makeup of the PAP.

The PAP provides expert advice to guide the development of public art activity in Wellington City. The Chair of the PAP makes the final decision on support provided to projects.

2 All Council grants’ critera will be adhered to in addition to the outcomes and criteria within this Public Art Policy.

PAP members will:
maintain a curatorial overview of public art activity in Wellington
contribute to the development of a public art work programme that meets the Council’s desired outcomes for public art activity
provide advice to Council on proposals for public art activity
advise on commissioning processes and artist selection methods
make recommendations to Council on the acquisition, bequest, donation or loan of art for public spaces
make recommendations on works that should be relocated or deaccessioned
liaise with key public art stakeholders – Mana Whenua, Wellington Sculpture Trust and Wellington Waterfront Ltd
suggest ways to develop sector skills and nurture the creation of public art projects

In addition to assessment, the City Arts team can provide advice to arts practitioners, arts organisations and those interested in commissioning or partnering in public art activity before a formal proposal is lodged.

High level approval process

Proposal

Artist/Arts Organisation

Assessment and Recommendation

Public Art Panel

Approval

City Arts Team

For more detail see the operational flow chart in Appendix 1

Assessment of proposals Criteria
People seeking support from the Council for public art activity will have to show that the proposed activity (including gift/donation) is of a high standard of artistic merit and has a strong link to one of the
outcomes in this policy (section 1.6).

Proposals will be assessed against the following criteria derived from the policy outcomes. Priority will be given to proposals that demonstrate at least one of the following:

New artistic practices that will reinforce Wellington’s reputation as a centre for innovation

Located in one of Wellington’s suburban centres, and will reflect that suburban centre’s sense of place through its history, culture and topography

Recounts Māori whakapapa and history; and/or can demonstrate approval and support of mana whenua representative organisations (eg Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust, Te Rūnanga O Toa Rangātira); and helps to develop the artistic capacity of mana whenua (Ngāti Toa and Taranaki Whānui) in a meaningful way

Celebrates/represents Wellington’s diverse communities, creating opportunities for diverse community groups

Demonstrates how Wellington residents will be engaged in the development of public art activity

Takes place in public infrastructure as part of a (re)development project

Initiates and implements programmes to communicate and educate people about Wellington’s public art activity

Directly contributes to social and economic change and urban/suburban revitalisation in Wellington

The fit with a specific public art outcome will be weighted against the artistic merits of the proposal. This will ensure that work of outstanding artistic merit is not dismissed due to a poor fit with the outcomes.

In assessing the artistic merit of a proposed activity, the following factors will be taken into account including a works response to a particular site. Priority will be assigned to public art activity proposals that:

demonstrate a high standard of artistic excellence
respond to the proposed site, which means taking into consideration the sites context (cultural, historical, environmental)
may present opportunities for Wellington artists
consider the accessibility of an artwork

Mandatory Requirements
Public  art  proposals  must  take  place  within  the  Wellington  City  Council  area  and  meet  safety requirements. All proposals seeking approval must:

take place within the Wellington City Council area
demonstrate appropriate consideration of public safety and the public’s access to and use of the public domain
indicate credible maintenance and durability requirements

Relocation of public art

The Council will consider relocating public artworks for a range of reasons including:
artistic and historic relevance
public safety
changes to the design and use of the public space occupied by the artwork
a new and better site has become available for an artwork
a change in the outcomes for public art activity. The Council will follow the same process as if the artwork was offered for the first time. If the result of this is not to move the artwork the Council may also consider deaccessioning the work.

Decisions will be made on consideration of consultation with the artist(s) (or the family of the artist(s) if necessary) and other relevant people or organisations involved in its establishment. If an artwork needs to be moved or altered in any way, consideration will be given to the moral rights of an artist under the Copyright Act 1994.

The Policy does not envisage placing public artworks in storage in the possibility that they will be useful in the future, although temporary storage (eg waiting for a specific site to become available) will be permitted if the artwork meets the outcomes and criteria of this policy.

Deaccessioning public art

The Council will consider deaccessioning public art works for a range of reasons including:
artistic and historic relevance
public safety
changes to the design and use of the public space occupied by the art work
artwork is vandalised or damaged and repair is not feasible

The Council will follow the same process as if the artwork was offered for the first time. The decision will also be made on consideration of consultation with the artist(s) (or the family of the artist(s) if  necessary) and other relevant people or organisations involved in its establishment. If an artwork needs to be moved or altered in any way, consideration will be given to the moral rights of an artist under the Copyright Act 1994.

Options will include:
selling or gifting the artwork back to the artist
donating to a community group or facility, or organisation that operates for public benefit
open sale or auction

Decisions on the above options will be made by the City Arts team with guidance from the Public Art Panel, based on criteria that include:
resale value
sensibilities around how Council came to own the artwork
condition of the artwork

Maintenance and asset management

Wellington City Council is responsible for maintaining its public artworks to a safe standard and to ensure artistic integrity is retained.

An asset management plan and database for public art will be regularly updated to represent a complete register of public art works that the Council has responsibility for. This will include a maintenance or conservation plan that details the condition and management requirements for each work – possibly as identified by the artist.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Wellington City Council will monitor the performance of the Public Art Policy, and will evaluate the impact of public art activity against the outcomes.

Projects funded by the Public Art Fund incorporate a written evaluation after project completion that provides project analysis (qualitative and/or quantitative) to enable the benefits for public art activity to be measured.

Appendix one: Assessment process for public art activities on public spaces

Towards 2040: Smart Wellington

Arts and Culture Strategy

External proposals
Arts organisations
Private
Donation/gift

Internal proposal

Other Council teams
Councillors

Outcomes for public art activity

Public art proposal

Public Art Panel

Criteria

Project assessment

Approval (meets criteria)

No approval (doesn’t meet criteria)

Appendix two: Guidelines for assessment process

The following table outlines how proposals for public art activity will be assessed, to ensure that they meet the public art outcomes. A proposal seeking Council support must achieve a high score in at least one section (either section A or B) and a medium in the other. The descriptions under the rating options of low, medium and high indicate the kind of standard required for the appropriate score.

Proposal Assessment Criteria	
Rating:	Low	Medium	High	
Section A:	Artistic merit			
Artistic merit	Average merit -proposed activity is underwhelming	Significant merit - proposed activity is of a good standard	Outstanding merit - proposed activity is of a high standard	
Section B:	Strategic fit			
Fresh, innovative	Not very innovative	Reinforces current innovation trends	Innovative - adds something fresh and new, extends thinking and discourse about public art	
Suburban art enhancing sense of place	Takes place in the suburbs	Takes place in the suburbs and enhances local identity	Takes place in the suburbs, enhances local identity, reinvigorating public space and generating a sense of belonging to that place	
Māori whakapapa and kōrero	Uses Māori concepts, words and themes	Work uses local or national Māori concepts, words and themes and involves Māori artist(s)	Work uses local Māori concepts, words and themes and involves Māori artist(s) who is/are recognised by mana whenua authorities	
Represents diverse communities	Represents a diverse community group	Represents and provides opportunities for a diverse community group	Provides opportunities and represents, celebrates and strengthens a community
group	
Engages the community	Little or no engagement or information about activity	Engages residents in some aspects of the development of public art activity	Engages residents in the development of work; informs local community about activity	
Incorporates art into Public infrastructure	Artist commissioned to develop a work for completed public infrastructure project	Artist conceptually feeds into design of public infrastructure at the beginning of the project	Artist conceptually feeds into design of public infrastructure and develops artwork(s) for incorporation	
Programmes to communicate and educate people about public art activity	Programme will increase communication around the city’s public art activity/ies	Programme will increase communication and educate people about the city’s public art activities	Programme will communicate and educate – increasing access to, knowledge of, and promote
activity to an international audience	
Contributes to social and economic change, and revitalisation in Wellington	Activity contributes to social and economic change	Activity contributes to social and economic change, and urban/suburban revitalisation	Activity contributes to social and economic change, and urban/suburban revitalisation that directly inspires innovative new businesses and social activity.