On Monday, people concerned about funding for public arts in Chapel Hill can come to a discussion session — the third in a series — guided by the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission. http://sallygreene.org/blending-the-arts-and-public-policy/
The commission will discuss the importance of public arts in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area and how to delegate and apportion their budget to various programs. The commission plans on presenting their official draft to the Chapel Hill Town Council before June.
The public arts budget coordinates and depends on other town council budgets.
How much funding goes toward the public arts budget depends on two other major factors — the Capital Improvement Projects budget and the parks and recreation budget, according to Public Arts Administrator Jeffrey York.
The CIP typically donates about one percent of its budget to the public arts, as decided by the town council since July 5, 2000. This percent typically inflates, in terms of dollars, depending on how much funding the CIP receives.
The parks and recreation budget also contributes to the public arts budget, which helps fund public art programs.
York said arts programs have a base overall division budget of $540,000, but that does not accurately represent how much funding actually goes into public arts programs.
Often, the profit gained from various arts programs and private company sponsorships contributes a significant amount more to arts programs. Therefore, it simply depends on the year as to how much funding the public arts programs receive, York said.
The focus and organization put into the public arts budget helps fund many of Chapel Hill’s most renowned art venues and festivals such as Festifall, the Downtown Art Program and the Community Clay Studio.
