Salt Lake City is progressive in its arts programming and support within municipal government thanks in part to a legacy of great leadership and four big initiatives: 1) Percent for Art program, 2) Salt Lake City Arts Council, the 3) Mayor’s Arts Culture and Events Fund, and 4) THE BLOCKS SLC, a brand identity of Salt Lake’s Cultural Core.

The Percent for Art program started in 1984 to commission more public art in Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City’s growing public art collection includes over 130 permanent artworks in all seven City Council Districts that make up the City. Percent for Art requires any new development project in the City receiving public assistance to invest a percent of the assessed value of the project into public art.

And now, the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City (RDA) has successfully increased the percentage from 1% to 1.5%. The RDA Board of Directors approved the increase in December after reviewing the need to better support artists and promote more quality public spaces. 

How does a Percent for Art program work?

Whenever Salt Lake City undertakes a capital building or improvement project, a percent of that project’s budget is reserved to create public art as part of the completed project.  For example, if a developer asks for city assistance via tax increment financing (TIF) and the end project’s assessment is $10 million, one percent of that total, or $150,000, would go toward public art.

“Public art helps spark additional community investment,” says RDA Project Manager Tracy Tran. “It’s also one of the primary elements that draws people into a neighborhood. We want to foster that curiosity and encourage more of it.”

Article continues here: https://slcecondev.com/2021/01/29/the-rda-approves-resolution-to-increase-public-art-funding-in-salt-lake-city/