FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2019
City of Kingston
Releases ‘Art in Public’ Policy Draft
Community
Presentation and Workshop on May 21
KINGSTON, NY – Mayor Steve Noble, the City
of Kingston’s Department of Art & Cultural Affairs, and the Kingston Arts
Commission announce today, the ‘Art in Public’ policy draft. This city-wide
policy establishes protocol and procedure for publicly displayed works of art
in Kingston. A community presentation and workshop to introduce the policy and
answer any questions will be held on May 21 at 5:30pm at City Hall. The
Director of Art & Cultural Affairs, Adrielle Farr, will make a brief
presentation on the policy, followed by a roundtable discussion.
“The City of Kingston encourages artists
to continue to develop and create artwork that engages with the public,” said
Mayor Noble. “I created the office of Arts and Cultural Affairs with the
intention of the director being a valuable resource to our community of
artists. With this policy, she will assist those wanting to produce public art
and help them through the process.”
“We know that public art displays have
become part of Kingston’s identity and provide our community members the
opportunity to engage with art every day,” said Adrielle Farr. “The Arts
Commission and I have thoroughly researched existing policies, while also
taking into consideration the needs of our particular community, and have
created a policy that we believe will benefit artists, the City’s historic
assets, and everyone who enjoys the artwork itself.”
A working draft of the policy is available on the City’s website, and copies will be
provided at the workshop. After addressing feedback and concerns from the
public, the Department of Art & Cultural Affairs and the Arts Commission
will present the policy to the Common Council for adoption into the City Code.
Once the policy is in place, a Community Art Panel will be formed and an
application process will be instated for art in public.
“This policy is not to restrict art or
artists in any way. We want to say yes to more projects, and to involve more
people from the community in the process,” said Susie Linn, chairperson of the
Arts Commission. “The Art in Public policy protects artists’ work as outlined
in the Visual Artists Rights Act, and we believe will be an asset to local
artists.”
Public input regarding the policy will be accepted until June 15. Comments can be submitted to [email protected].