Art in Public Places
The City of Sacramento’s nationally renowned Art in Public Places (APP) program was established in 1977 to expand public experiences of visual art by installing artworks in public spaces. It includes a collection of more than 400 permanently sited works of art integrated into Sacramento’s built and natural environments. More than 80% of these artworks are by local and regional artists.
The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission manages Sacramento’s Public Art Program which is funded through City and County ordinances and a Memorandum of Understanding that specifies 2% of eligible City and County capital improvement project budgets be set aside for the commission, purchase, and installation of artworks throughout the City. The Art in Public Places Committee, a sub-committee of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, oversees the development of a public art master plan, long range planning, policy and procedures and reviews and approves artist selection and projects.
The program has grown to include exhibition spaces, featuring ongoing installations of regional artists at Sacramento City Hall and Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). An Education Program was established in 2008 and includes guided tours, workshops, lectures, discussions, and other educational opportunities for design professionals, public art practitioners and the general public.
The goal of the Art in Public Places program is to integrate art and the ideas of artists into the fabric of the City. The collection includes permanent and temporary artworks as well as art that is integrated into the design of buildings and landscapes. Some of the artworks are interactive, some static, some made with traditional or non traditional media like paint, wood, steel, glass, and clay or sound, light, video and film. There are artworks in the collection that are functional, like a bench or tree grate, some address a political or social concern. There are works that are monumental and others are meant to be experienced more intimately, and many will simply take you by surprise.
As a whole, the ever-changing APP collection is meant to:
- Contribute to building and sustaining the unique cultural heritage and identity of Sacramento
- Encourage community dialogue and interaction
- Provide unique educational opportunities
- Influence the way we think of others and ourselves
- Inspire, celebrate, and help us remember
- Create a more beautiful built and natural environment
- Encourage economic development and vitality by providing business opportunities and by making Sacramento a better place to live
View the artworks that are part of this incredible collection on the APP Collection Directory. You may search by name, title, medium, or simply select the Random Images option to browse.
Read more about this topic: Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission
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