Home > Living > Community, Culture & Sport > Arts and entertainment > Public Art

Public Art

Public Art is about creating successful places and spaces connected to the communities in which they are sited. In this way public art creates a sense of place, space and identity. Public art shouldn't just be about placing sculptures on plinths but it should help Portsmouth become more competitive and raise its national benchmark by increasing the vibrancy and place making of Portsmouth. Public art is ideally part of the design and city planning, making tangible links between the community (resident, business and visitor) the council and the developer. It's about creating an active dialogue and finding solutions or avoiding problems within a spatial context. Public Art doesn't have to have an end result, it doesn't need to be a piece of art, it can just be about linking the diverse range of Portsmouth's communties to a space or place. The emphasis for public art within the city is suitability, design, quality, local distinctiveness, consultation, environment and sustainability.

Advice

Public Art is a complex process and one that has many associated risks and costs. We do not recommend that individuals or community groups commission art for the public realm. Portsmouth City Council's Public Art Officer is able to provide initial advice for your project but you should fully consider the implications before embarking on any public art project:

• Site identification - consider who owns the land and whether your piece of public art is suitable or acceptable to the landowner and design of the area (i.e. if it's within a street scape it might not be suitable for the highway, it might interfere with underground services or it would be detrimental to the design of the area).
• You should also find out if you need planning permission from the City Council which follows a certain process.
• Consultation - Consult widely within the environment in which you are planning your public art piece - contact Portsmouth City Council, contact local businesses or groups and local residents

If the initial consultation process above gives your project shape and a way forward without objection then the following points need to be considered:

• Advertise - You should advertise your commission to the art community at large (advice on how to do this is obtainable from the arts services unit). Not only is this an equal and fair way of advertising your commission, it also gives you many more ideas and creative input rather than using a pre-selected artist as a maker of a pre-conceived object - this approach is extremely limiting.
• Shortlist - Ideally asking 3 artists to come up with an initial design response to your project is good practice. You will have to pay a fee but this gives you 3 options for you and your 'community' to consider.
• Materials - Make sure that the materials an artist is proposing are fit for their purpose in the public realm (eg that no one will injure themselves on any parts or by poor design).
• Maintenance & Liability - If the piece you are proposing isn't officially adopted by another body then you as the commissioner, or the artist will be liable for continued maintenance and any public liability or professional indemnity issues.
• Budget - The budget has to cover much more than artist fees and materials/construction. You may have to consider many other costs including transportation, installation, power supply and tariff if required, specialist finishes (i.e. graffiti spray wax on stone) and a launch or advertising your work.
• Installation - If you are installing in the public realm then there are risks associated with installation of art works. Ideally use a recognised sub contractor who is professionally competent and insured to carry out the installation on your behalf. You will also need a risk assessment which the sub contractor is able to provide for you on request; all projects in the public realm need to be risk assessed and this again is a fairly specialised area.
• Insurance - You will need to make sure that you have evidence of ongoing insurance for your piece to protect it and also to protect the public from it.
• Legal Status - Consider if the group commissioning the piece has adequate legal status to provide ongoing insurance, if not it is possible that an individual can be sued and this potentially can be for several million pounds.
• Decommissioning - It is good practice to think about the decomissioning of your piece in advance. This is about knowing when to maintain the artwork(s) and when it's beyond repair in which case you would 'decommission' the work. You need to allow for the associated costs of taking the piece away and making good the environment it came from.

These are just some of the issues involved in public art commissioning and this advice is intended as a rough guide to enable you to start thinking about what's involved in commissioning public art.

For further information contact the Public Art Officer on 023 9268 8170 or email gerry.wall@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.

Major projects

Integrated public art, as part of the design process is being incorporated into some of Portsmouth's major development schemes including:

• Southsea Precinct - enhancement of planters and precinct seating by local artists 'Splodge Designs' and landmark lighting features by sculptor Charles Normandale.
• Edinburgh Road canopy and City Centre Regeneration - research of materials and lighting design for a canopy or series of canopies along Commercial Road from a junction point at Edinburgh Road. Artist involvement also in the lighting design strategy.
• Northern Quarter Regeneration - potential involvment of artists in the Northern Quarter project with anchor store John Lewis.
• Art Plus award - competitive award funded by Arts Council England South East and South East of England Development Agency; working with artist Seran Kubisa on a city forensic project which involves the microscopy of treasures from local communities. Follow the link to the website on the right of this page.

---