Austin in the running for Bloomberg public art grant

Today, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced that the city of Austin is one of 14 finalists in its Public Art Challenge. Over 200 cities applied to the challenge, which invited cities with 30,000 residents or more to submit proposals for “temporary public art projects that address important civic issues, and demonstrate an ability to generate public-private collaborations, celebrate creativity and urban identity, and strengthen local economies.” Bloomberg will select “at least three finalists” to receive a grant of up to $1 million to actualize their proposals over the next two years. Austin’s proposal is to fill “public parks in under-served communities with artwork to shine a light on cultural equity. The City of Austin seeks to encourage collaboration with artists by creating works that reflect the city’s unique cultural heritage and identities.” The city plans to partner with the Contemporary Austin and artist collective SUPERFLEX to create the installations, if it wins the funding. “Public art that is accessible to all Austin residents is an important measure of equity,” said Mayor Steve Adler. “We are thrilled to be a finalist for our proposal to install culturally relevant public artwork throughout public parks in our underserved Eastern Crescent, and to shine a light on cultural equity.”