The San Francisco Arts Commission recently decided to merge its Public Art and Collections Programs. These two Arts Commission’s programs deal specifically with the acquisition of artwork and its subsequent and ongoing care as part of the Civic Art Collection. We believe that this merger will result in a more effective and professional interface between the commissioning of work and its future care and longevity.

San Francisco’s earliest art policies date back to the establishment of the Arts Commission by the voters under the 1932 San Francisco Charter. The Charter gave the Arts Commission jurisdiction over all of the art belonging to the City which was not included in the collection of the Fine Arts Museum and charged the Arts Commission with the preservation and care of artwork in the Civic Art Collection. Years later in 1969, the Art Enrichment Ordinance was enacted to provide a guaranteed funding mechanism for the acquisition of artwork for new public facilities and civic spaces.

San Francisco’s collection of public art works, monuments, and murals define and distinguish the City as an important cultural destination. Historic treasures such as the Coit Tower murals, the Buddha in Golden Gate Park’s Japanese Tea Garden, and the Mechanic’s Monument on Market Street are landmarks synonymous with San Francisco’s unique identity. The hundreds of artworks commissioned through the San Francisco Arts Commission’s Public Art Program demonstrate the City’s pride of place and its commitment to beautify our city and invest in its cultural legacy. Many of the public artworks commissioned have received the prestige of a citation in the annual Art in America Guide to Galleries, Museums and Artists and have received the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network Year in Review Award.

This is a time of unprecedented government and public interest in Public Art and Collection’s Management. In response to this enthusiasm and support for public art, the San Francisco Arts Commission has initiated a new program of temporary public art installations which has featured internationally celebrated artists such as Louise Bourgeois and Manolo Valdes as well as collaborations with non-profits such as the Black Rock Arts Foundation to produce the David Best Temple project.

The Civic Art Collection consists of more than 3,000 art objects and is comprised of historic monuments, memorials, gifts to the city, annual art festival purchases made from 1946 to 1986 and more recently, the hundreds of contemporary art works commissioned through the City’s Public Art Program since its inception in 1969. This extremely diverse collection represents many significant art movements executed by artists of national and international renown and includes the work of generations of San Francisco artists. Consistant with the Commission’s mission to integrate artwork into the fabric of daily life in the city, the artwork is found in public facilities and spaces of every description such as hospitals, libraries, courthouses, parks, playgrounds, libraries, along the waterfront, in major plazas such as Union Square, Moscone Convention Center, the Airport and the Zoo.

An ongoing and ever important goal of the Commission is to procure funds to protect and preserve the many artworks under its jurisdiction. It is estimated that the City’s collection of monuments and contemporary artworks is valued in excess of $80 million dollars. Well maintained public art is one way that the economic health and outlook of a city is reflected. Studies in urban planning point to public art as an important cornerstone of a city’s vitality and livability. San Francisco’s ample offering of cultural resources are intrinsic to its allure to its visitors and residents.