In 1991, the Planning Commission, on the recommendation of City Council, appointed a Public Art Commission (PAC) to
administer a Public Art Program. In January of 1997, City Council passed an ordinance formalizing the Percent-for-the-Arts Process
and mandating its funding through the Capital Improvements budget.
“Fire Station #17 Call For Artist Information”
Meeting Information
The PAC holds regular meetings from 9:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the 5th floor Conference Room of City Hall.
- January 10, 2012
- March 20, 2012
- May 8, 2012
- July 10, 2012
- September 11, 2012
- November 13, 2012
Membership Composition
The PAC consists of eleven members, appointed by the Planning Commission, with staggered three year terms with the opportunity
for reappointment for one additional term, making a total possible term of service of six years.
The representatives from the Urban Design Committee and the Planning Commission shall serve terms on the PAC that are coincident
with their appointments to those bodies.
The Director of Planning and Development Review shall hold a permanent seat on the Commission as liaison to the staff.
Additionally,
the commission is comprised of representatives from the fields of visual arts, visual arts education, and architecture, along with
two citizen representatives.
Attendance is required and any member who misses three consecutive meetings or more than four in a year will be automatically
retired from the commission.
The current members are
- Sally Bowring, Chair - Visual Artist
- Paul DiPasquale – CultureWorks representative
- Sarah Driggs - Urban Design Committee member
- Vaughn Garland - Visual Artist
- Amy Hauft - Visual Artist
- William Hutchins - Planning Commission member
- Tom Papa - Citizen representative
- Riker Purcell - Citizen representative
- Susan Reed - Architect representative
For more information about the members or their terms, contact the Public Art Coordinator.
Percent-for-Art Program
The Percent-for-Art program ensures that the highest quality art will have a place in public spaces throughout the city. The program encourages the participation of the surrounding communities in various stages of the artworks' development.
Based on national public art models in 27 states and nearly 200 municipalities, Richmond's Public Art Program follows well-established guidelines adapted to our particular needs.
A 1% allocation for art is earmarked from the city's Capital Budget of appropriate new or renovation construction projects having budgets over $250,000. Appropriate projects are ones that provide public services and accessibility, such as firehouses, police precincts, courthouses and detention centers, hospitals, clinics, passenger terminals, parks, and recreation centers.
Once funding has been established, a Site Selection Team is convened, consisting of a representative of the staff of the facility being built or expanded, members of the community, the architect, a city official from the sponsoring agency, and two to three members of the Public Art Commission, one of whom is an artist.
Through an open call-to-artists, applications are reviewed for artistic quality and appropriateness of their ideas or concepts to the specific project. The site requirements and the nature of the community are seriously considered when the selection team makes its recommendations to the Public Art Commission for final approval of the selected artwork.
