How Much Money Has City Hall Spent on Public Art?!

This is one of those time when inflection and intonation come in handy.  The title of this post can be said 2 ways, as a question or as an exclamation of surprise depending upon how the phrase is vocalized, and upon the emphasis placed on certain words.   I have done both.

 I was curious and wanted to know how much money had been spent on public art projects since 2004 when the program began.  Thus, the simple question, "how much money has city hall spent on public art?"

 When I saw the results, it more like, "HOW MUCH has city hall spent on public art?!"

 Information provided to me by city hall shows that from 2004 to the present, a total of $18,324,539 has been spent on public art.  This total does NOT show  "temporary works that have been created over time: things like the Celebration of the Bow project, works by artists who have had residencies,  170+ utility boxes, murals, etc."    

 This likely puts the total at over $20M. 

 There will be those who will say that this amount is a mere fraction of the total of the budgets from which these projects were paid from (0.8%).

 Fraction or not, $20 million is a lot of dollars that could have been spent in a way that would have better served the citizens of Calgary. 

 We are familiar with some of the more controversial pieces (Bowfort Towers at a cost of $500,000, Travelling Light aka The Big Blue Ring at $470,000), but I have the complete list of public art projects that were funded by city hall for you to view. I will have a link for you to click on below.

 I have decided to take the 5 highest priced pieces to show you what works the City has spent over $1 million on.  Ladies and gentlemen I present, "Ode to wasted dollar"

 For an idea about how we SHOULD be funding public art, click on the link.  Colin Craig of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has a great idea about this, but most on council didn't want to hear it.

 Public Art in Orlando Florida Paid for Without Using Public Money

 #5 - Flock & Ascent-$1,148,000

Completed:2017
Medium: Stainless Steel, Acrylic Prisms (2 Locations)
Location: Rocky Ridge Recreational Facilty
Artists: Haddad/Drugan

 #4 - Hawk Hill Calgary Sentinels-$1,570,000

Completed: 2013
Medium: Earthwork: Soil, Sod, Native Grasses
               Sentinels: Core-Ten Steel
Location: Ralph Klein Park
Artist: Beverly Pepper

#3 - Luminous Crossings-$1,800,000


Completed: 2013
Medium: Stainless Steel,LED Lighting
Location: 7th Ave. CTrain Platforms at Centre and 10th Street Stations
Artist: Cliff Garten

 #2 - Outflow-$1,850,000

 Completed: 2014
Medium: Integrated into Park/Ductal and Steel
Location: Parkdale Plaza, Bow River Pathway @34A St. N.W.
Artist: Brian Tolle

 #1 - Bow Passage Overlook-$3,120,000

 Completed: 2014
Medium: Rundle Stone, Native Plants, and Basalt Columns
Location: Pearce Estate Park
Artist: Lorna Jordan

 2004-2018 Public Art Funding Spreadsheet

My Thoughts on Publicly Funded Art


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