Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza. The reinvented Downtown Farmer’s Market is in the background. Keep your eye out for more work like this, as the City of Vancouver has a motion on notice to increase the amount of public art via a “public art boost” (with thanks to VanCityBuzz Staff). More on this boost below.
City Council is scheduled to debate the motion Tuesday [Ed: May 31] to install more public and community art over the coming year, including accelerating projects that are ready for completion this summer . . . . . There are over 400 pieces of public art in Vancouver, and recent changes to rezoning policies for private developments over 100,000 square feet now require developers to contribute $1.98 per buildable square foot to the City’s public art program.
A “Public Art Boost” (with thanks to Councilor Heather Deal)
- Quick starts to be brought back to Council as soon as possible and no later than the end of July. These should include:
- Identification of barriers to public art and suggestions of what steps are necessary to remove them;
- Identification of projects already in process which can be enabled to be installed during the Summer of 2016;
- Opportunities to use the Innovation Fund to leverage community partners to enable significant new public art projects for 2016 and 2017;
- Consultation with cultural and business communities, other organizations and interested residents on expansion of public and community art opportunities and projects;
- A robust plan to ensure existing public art is maintained;
- A public awareness campaign about Vancouver’s public art.
