by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville and City officials are working to renew the Council’s Art in Public Places Program, which is largely responsible for much of the art in the City’s dozens of publicly-funded buildings scattered all over Jacksonville.
Bob White, the Cultural Council’s executive director, and Susie Wiles, chief of special initiatives and communications for Mayor John Peyton, both agree the negotiations are more of a formality than anything. White said the program is very successful and points to many displays as proof and Wiles said the Art in Public Places Program is vital to Jacksonville’s cultural growth.
“My understanding is the City is really committed to the citizens who benefit by having the best art program possible. We are looking at different ways to go forward,” said White.
The program is currently funded by an ordinance that was approved in 1997 that requires one-quarter of one percent of all public building construction costs go towards art for public buildings such as libraries, the Arena, the ball park, the equestrian center and eventually the new county courthouse. Although the
ordinance was passed by the City Council in 1997, White said the Art in Public Places Commission (the group that administers the Art in Public Places Program) didn’t get really active until 2001 when the Better Jacksonville Plan (which was passed in September 2000) began generating
revenue for public buildings and roads.
“There was not much public construction from 1997 to 2001 to generate income for the program,” said White. “Now, we are opening new and remodeling various libraries all over.”
Wiles said the program is important to the mayor’s office and something Peyton wants to get done well before the Dec. 31 deadline when the current contract expires.
“We think the Cultural Council is doing a wonderful job administering the contract. We hope to continue it,” said Wiles. “The administration of the Art in Public Places Program is what the mayor wants and obviously we want them to keep it up. [Public art] makes an important statement about the type of community we want to be.”
Wiles said the mayor’s office has received several inquiries the past few weeks from various City-funded organizations about the future of available funds for various programs. She said groups are worried because of impending budget cuts that may or may not affect their organization and their programs.
White said it’s hard to determine exactly how much money the Council has available to buy art for public buildings because their budget is based on a percentage of costs, which changes from project to project and even changes within the project. However, he did say the Better Jacksonville Plan has benefited the arts program more than anything.
“The Better Jacksonville Plan has generated a huge influx of money, an amount maybe unprecedented for a city our size,” he said.