INSIGHTS FROM THE FIELD: Driving for Equitable Change in Public Art
Collecting Data to Drive Transparency & Accountability St. Louis Park, Minnesota
With demands from many communities to center equity, and nationwide research focused on a history of white, male, colonizer-centered monuments and memorials, there has been an increased interest in transparency and accountability around public art collections, processes, selection protocols and budgets.
While some public art and collections managers don’t know where to start or are even resistant to making change, others are using data to guide a new path. “Some cities come to us with specific requests for artists who identify as people of color. Others resist or deny the need to pay attention to this work. We still see partners crossing off equity suggestions in our plans,” says Mark Salinas, Senior Project Manager at Forecast. “Collecting data allows us to understand what’s in a collection, and this work means admitting to the discrepancies, which is hard.” Understanding who has been represented, who has not, and how decisions have been made is an essential first step when cities evaluate their public-art collections for racial, income, and gender discrepancies.
Equity audit results for the city of St Louis Park's public art collection, tracking artwork commissioning year, artist gender and race, and commission amounts.
Some cities come to us with specific requests for artists who identify as people of color. Others resist or deny the need to pay attention to this work. We still see partners crossing off equity suggestions in our plans.
—Mark Salinas, Senior Project Manager, Forecast Public Art
Forecast has long partnered with the City of St. Louis Park on public art projects. After a community re-envisioning process revealed racial equity and inclusion as high priorities for the City Council, the City asked Forecast to conduct an equity audit of its public art collection. “Our equity audits holistically examine collections and processes to reveal who is receiving commissions, pay inequities, content and context, themes, geography and other aspects to see where any gaps exist,” explains Jen Krava, Director, Programming and New Initiatives. “The city then creates a plan based on the identified gaps, which makes a huge difference in awareness when planning future projects.”
The audit indicated that we need to be more mindful in representing the diverse population of St. Louis Park through public art.
—Sean Walther, Planning Manager, City of St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Who
Who is being commissioned?
What
What forms and subject matter are supported?
How
How are public artists and artworks selected?
Where
Where are the artworks situated?
A simplified methodology model for an equity audit.
Forecast's equity audit found five of the largest public art commissions were given to women and/or BIPOC artists, but commissions by male artists were higher overall in budget. Of 29 artists commissioned, only two were BIPOC artists with a ten-year gap between commissions. Most public artwork was sited in high-income areas; the lowest-income area hadn’t any public art. Subject matter dealt with materials, nature, and interactivity. Also, the City hadn’t collected substantive information on the selection process or public involvement. Forecast’s recommendations included developing a public art master plan that better integrated the City’s equity goals.
We've refocused our efforts in areas of the city without a public art presence and become more intentional about the committee members participating in our public art selection processes.
—Sean Walther, Planning Manager, City of St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Location of public artworks in relation to St Louis Park resident income, areas of high to low property values.
“The audit indicated that we need to be more mindful in representing the diverse population of St. Louis Park through public art,” says Sean Walther, Planning Manager, City of St. Louis Park. “We’ve refocused our efforts in areas of the city without a public art presence and become more intentional about the committee members participating in our public-art selection process, particularly when working with private developers. As we collect data, we’re paying closer attention to the demographics of the artists responding, making it through the rounds, and selection process.” As a result, new public art projects have made efforts to diversify and enrich future artwork’s historical context, image representation, subject matter, and artist approach. “More hands and more inclusion,” Walther says, “add community value.”