The global market for commissions is healthy and growing. With over 7,000 projects published on the CODAworx site, we have a comprehensive database that offers insightful information that is important to our industry. This week’s edition of CODAweekly provides an overview of commission fees – year-over-year growth and comparable fees by design segment.
2016 – 2019 Commission Fees Profile
Creatives of all kinds, artists as well as commissioners of art projects, are always interested in the budgets identified for the creation of an artwork. CODAworx refers to these dollar amounts as commission fees, and we appreciate when that information is added to project descriptions. This helps to demonstrate the value of the projects to the local, regional, and global economy.
During the period 2016 – 2019, 2,802 projects across all categories were posted to the CODAworx website. Commission fees were provided for approximately two-thirds of those projects. Data available shows that the sum of budgets for entered projects was $388 million. Extrapolating that sum across all projects suggests that the commission fees value of all works in the study period exceeds $578 million.
Average commission fee shows some variability across the four-year study period. Average fees reflect a relatively static trend in years 2016 – 2018 but are down by 19% in 2019. The lower average fee in 2019 is due primarily to the explosion of murals in public and private spaces; murals typically pay lower fees than most other artwork published on the CODAworx site.
Average Commission Fee by Category
Projects are posted to CODAworx.com within one of ten design categories. Data shown in Table 1 below reflects average commission fee by category during the period 2016 to 2019. Hospitality projects have the highest average commission fee, followed by Transportation projects.
Table #1: Average Commission Fee by Category – 2016 – 2019
Projects within Hospitality are typically well capitalized by investors seeking to create locations that make a bold architectural and aesthetic statement. This is very much apparent in 2018 and 2019. The 2018 Hotel Adeline project in Scottsdale, AZ provided an artwork budget of $12 million, resulting in a contemporary-meets-bohemian design aesthetic with hints of mid-century design. Also in 2018, the Hotel Triton project in San Francisco, CA utilized an artwork budget of $10 million to decorate 140 rooms with custom designed furniture, lighting and bathroom fixtures. The 2019 Hudson Yards Grill project utilized an artwork budget of $7 million. The restaurant embodies New York City’s vibrant energy and diverse culture, showcasing bright colors and an expansive selection of modern art throughout the restaurant.
The Transportation sector receives considerable funding for artwork through subsidized taxes including required “Percent for Art” contributions. As entire infrastructure projects sometimes require billions in expenses, the amount available towards art can be substantial. For example, the 2018 Amsterdam North-South subway line project for the City of Amsterdam, Netherlands included an artwork budget totaling $5 million. Artists designed monumental works in glass, stone or LED lighting, integrated into the walls or the floor of the stations. Also, in 2018, Caminar Con Luz, a project for the Acequia Trail Underpass in Santa Fe, NM included an artwork budget $4.3 million. The project resulted in a spacious light filled passageway based on an asymmetrical “Fibonacci” spiral, created with a steel frame and backlit translucent panel, flashes of intense cobalt blue and dozens of light icicles suspended in the central atrium.
Range of Commission Fees
The range of project commission fees is also of interest. For example, projects submitted occurring in 2017 showed values from as little as $75 (SmithGroupJJR’s colored chalk walls) to $4.56 million for the Toronto Centre for the Arts Main Stage Reconfiguration. For 2018, the lowest commission fee was $500 (Sea Animals Installation at the Miami, Florida United Way Center for Excellence in Early Education). The largest commission fee occurred with the previously mentioned Hotel Adeline. Projects posted as occurring in 2019 showed a commission fee ranging from $300 (In Its Shadow at Joshua Tree, CA) to the Hudson Yards Grill project described previously.
Publish Your Projects
CODAworx is a leading authority on commissioned art and we maintain a comprehensive database of information regarding RFPs, commissioning entities, budgets, and awards. Tapping into this database enables CODAweekly to also feature regular Industry Reports by design segment (commercial, hospitality, healthcare, etc.) that will highlight top artists, trends in commission fees, and more.
We encourage you to add information to the CODAworx database by publishing a project to our Project Library. Anyone involved in the collaborative process can publish a project on CODAworx. This includes the artist and creative teams, design professionals and other commissioners, and industry resources including fabricators, engineers, installers, lighting designers, videographers, and more.
The more information we know about our industry, the smarter we can work and create! Contribute to the knowledge base. Potential clients, commissioners, collaborators and your peers will get to know you and your work. They can contact you directly through the CODAworx messaging system.