Fort Worth Civic Art Paid For With Taxes
CBS 11's Joel Thomas Reports:
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - When installed, the finishing touches to the Lancaster Avenue expansion bordering the southern end of downtown Fort Worth was supposed to be an "Avenue of Light." However, the city-funded series of twisted metal columns immediately attracted scrutiny.
"I don't see that's its necessary because there's not that many people down here at that time of night," said Jewel Miller as she entered the downtown Post Office.
"They could use some of it for landscaping and stuff but I just don't care for those sculptures," said Matthew Orwat as he gazed at one of the six towers.
No matter their opinions of the style, these light towers are mandatory public art, built with funds from the expansion of Lancaster Avenue. As the Fort Worth City Council slashed every dollar to make up a budget shortfall, funding for such public art projects was practically untouchable.
Since 2001, city policy is art must be part of the footprint of every capital improvement project, or CIP. For instance, if a fire station is built, two percent of the money must go to art.
"Two pennies on the dollar," said Martha Peters, Public Art Director for Fort Worth Public Art, a professional administration that works with the city and neighborhoods to steer the funding toward arts projects. "It's an enhancement. It starts to bring a little more uniqueness to our city."
Peters said the project allows communities to express an identity while still enhancing the aesthetic value of the city. As an example, Peters pointed to a small park just off of Old Camp Bowie near Kincaid's Hamburgers. In the middle of the small green space is an enormous granite ball with three holes carved in its sides with water flowing from each hole.
"In the case of this piece," Peters said, "The artist is revealing the site in terms of where they are between the two forks of the Trinity River."
Public art project funding adds up to roughly $1 million each year, and about $7 million since the program started. But, since art is part of all Fort Worth bonds issued now, there's little else planners could do with the money.
In fact, the bonds residents vote for actually state a portion of the bond will go to public art and enhancement. Even if the council canceled the art, the money would have to go into that particular construction project somehow – it couldn't use it to keep a library or a pool open.
So while some may argue the aesthetics or effect of an "Avenue of Light," planners consider the art in the program just as much of an investment as the building project itself.
