Public Art and the Law: A Primer

By David Jenkins.

In March 2021, a new sculpture of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was unveiled in Brooklyn, NY. The 2nd Circuit awarded the largest damages ever in a lawsuit under the Visual Artists Rights Act to a collective of 5Pointz street artists, Molly Mason is suing a Kirkwood Community College for their treatment of her on-campus installation, and the Brooklyn museum is set to house Nick Cage's publicly displayed mural with the words “TRUTH BE TOLD” that sparked a dispute as to whether its community considered it an artwork at all.^[1] On April 21, 2021, the Center hosted a discussion with Kenseth Armstead and Sarah Odenkirk about legal and practical realities in the field of public art. As a kind of work which can and has presented itself to communities of all varieties in uniquely affecting and yet vulnerable ways, it should be no surprise that public art brings with it a number of unique legal questions and concerns that artists should be aware of before diving into a project for a public work.

First Things First: Getting into Public Art

Before getting into the weeds of what legal concerns may face an artist creating work for public spaces, an artist has to navigate the process of becoming a part of a public art project in the first place. Public art projects are organized by a wide variety of entities, municipalities, and private actors. As a result, the exact rules and procedures for taking on a public art project may vary greatly both by location and by the kind of group (public versus private) the artist is working with. Two common steps an artist can take to enter into the world of public art in virtually any circumstances: registering for a Percent for Art program, and completing either an RFP or an RFQ.