Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 01/09/2025

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community. He notes that"art is in the eye of the beholder" and that the city gets mostly positive comments and it is well received. However, critics of public art also voice their opinions and are particularly"loud" on social media. He sees public art as a way people remember the community. The existence of public art by local artists creates "ownership" within the community. There are people in the community that are willing to spend the time and effort to make public art possible. For those interested in art, the existence of public art in the city provides an approachable and accessible way to have conversations about art, and a way to encourage and inspire that element of life. He believes that art makes the community a more interesting and attractive place. To date, it is only the older areas of town, in and around downtown, that have public art installations, so it is less accessible to some parts of the community. He views the public costs as including the staff time necessary to help artists and groups prepare and process art project applications. In addition, staff spends time exploring and researching different sites and providing recommendations to the city council and other boards. The city must budget for additional maintenance and repair, and the city policy identifies those costs upfront and asks proposers to identify funding for such activities. Citizen Arts Commissioners and Artists This respondent serves as president of the local arts council for Community C and believes that public art contributes to the community by demonstrating that"the place is loved" and that people take pride in it. She believes that it brings people into the community and compares the image public art creates as "walking into a living room" as opposed to "walking into a meeting room." The strongest rationale for public art is that it humanizes the community and gives people a creative outlet. She believes that public art is for residents first, but the community is helped by others coming in. The public perception of public art has been critical 109