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PUBLIC ART MASTER PLAN
In 2022, Arts and Culture El Dorado engaged City leadership in a dialogue about the need for a public art plan in order to establish decision-making guidelines for public art proposals that come before the Council and a roadmap for developing new artworks and funding sources.
Simply put, public art is art in public spaces. Public art can take a wide range of forms, sizes, and scales—and can be temporary or permanent. It often interprets the history of the place and its people. Public art can include murals, sculpture, memorials, integrated architectural or landscape architectural work, community art, digital new media, and even performances and festivals.
Public art instills meaning—a greater sense of identity and understandings of where we live, work, and visit—creating memorable experiences for all. It humanizes the built environment, provides an intersection between past, present, and future, and can help communities thrive. Public art has been found to provide a positive impact on communities by supporting economic growth and sustainability, attachment and cultural identity, artists as contributors, social cohesion and cultural understanding, and public health and belonging.
Significant benefits will result from a public art plan that arises from true community engagement, is scaled appropriately to the size of the town, has realistic guidelines and benchmarks, and will result in a process that is trusted by all participants.
The project will fulfill an element of the City of Placerville Strategic Plan, adopted July 12, 2022:
Maintain/Improve Quality of Life: Provide and maintain vibrant public spaces, events and programs and ensure a well-designed and protected City infrastructure.
3) Strategy – Encourage and provide space for public art
a. Work with Arts and Culture El Dorado and other art focused groups and
organizations to develop a plan and process to incorporate the acquisition and
installation of public art at parks and other public sites. This would include a
detailed policy and protocol approved through both the Recreation and Parks
Commission and City Council
In order to ensure the best outcome for this important work, we have engaged the consulting firm Art Builds Community, a public art planning, consulting, policy, curation, and community engagement firm that brings critical thinking and artists’ perspectives to the creative design of cities, buildings, and infrastructure.
