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Oklahoma City public art to get integrative direction

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Public art in Oklahoma City may soon become a collaborative effort rather than a hodgepodge of loose-knit projects.

The city's art's commission is asking the mayor and city council to support a grant application that would transform a long-discussed public art policy from idea to reality.

Pledges of support by the city council, a cultural nonprofit group and the art commission could lead to an $80,000 grant, said Robbie Kienzle, arts and cultural affairs liaison for the city planning department.

“There's a lot of things that need to be worked out to get us more streamlined, have a more efficient process and to have specific roles because each time I approach one from a different department, it's an entirely different process,” she said.

A city ordinance adopted in 2009 requires 1 percent of the construction budget for any building, building renovation or park development to be set aside for public art. Currently, the city department or agency responsible for each individual project also is charged with developing the requisite art.

Mosaic tiles on the walls of the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, a sculpture along the Bricktown Canal and the glass art at the new library downtown are examples of public art that would today qualify for one percent funds.

Each of the eight planned MAPS 3 projects carries with them an individual fund for public art.

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