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 Industry Report provides an overview of commission fees by geography – across the United States and worldwide.
The CODAworx database has information specific to 579 commissioned projects in 2019. The majority of projects were installed within the United States (459). Twenty (20) projects were installed elsewhere in North America – three in Mexico and 17 across Canada. Fifty-one (51) projects were installed in Europe, with greater than 20 percent in the United Kingdom. Other locations were in the Middle East (Israel, Qatar, United Arab Emirates), Asia (China, Republic of Korea, Singapore) and in Australia, India, and New Zealand. Distribution across countries is shown below.
The distribution of commissioned projects across the United States is also significant. Projects were reported in 43 states and in Puerto Rico. States with the most projects commissioned are California (68), Florida (43), Texas (38) and New York (31). The table below shows data for all projects as reported by state.
According to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), there are three broad categories of arts funding in the United States. They are: (1) direct public funding (NEA, state, regional, and local arts agencies); (2) other public funding from various federal departments and agencies (direct and indirect); and (3) private sector contributions (individuals, foundations, and corporations).
In the U.S., there is no single agency or benefactor that doles out commissions to artists of all kinds. Instead, a variety of government subsidies compose roughly 7 percent of the nation’s total investment in not-for-profit arts groups. While the NEA is the largest single funder of the arts, the majority of direct public funding occurs from a combination of other federal, state, regional, and local agencies. This is supplemented by private art commissions occurring in commercial spaces, religious sites, hotels, healthcare facilities, private residences and educational settings.
The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) is the professional association for 56 state and jurisdictional arts agencies. Its mission is to champion public support for the arts in America. NASAA is an authoritative resource for state arts agencies and public funding for the arts, providing information regarding funding, grant making, public art, arts education, the creative economy, best practices for serving the public through art, and more.
State art agencies often encourage “percent for art” programs that set aside a small portion of public capital construction or renovation budgets reserved for purchase and installation of art. These programs occur in 28 states and territories. Programs differ by state, but typically includes advising, managing artist rosters, commissioning artworks, selecting installation sites, and more. States shown above with large numbers of commissions (e.g., Colorado, Florida, Ohio and Texas) have enacted legislation mandating up to one percent of public project construction costs be dedicated to site-specific artwork. Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin no longer have public art programs.
Other states with a large number of commissioned art projects include California and New York. While these states cannot boast legislation mandating large expenditures for art in publicly owned buildings, they do benefit from large-scale privately-owned development. Real estate developers, corporate executives, hoteliers and other property owners in cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City know that curated public art adds value to their assets.
In offices, art boosts creativity and reduces stress. In healthcare facilities, art reduces stress and anxiety, lowers blood pressure, and reduces the need for pain medication. Art is used for wayfinding and is a positive distraction for patients, visitors and staff. The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) states that arts-based placemaking provides an integrative approach to urban planning and community building, often reflected in commercial developments. Art installations stimulate local economies, leading to increased innovation, cultural diversity, and civic engagement. Across all types of economic development, leaders and commissioners increasingly recognize how public art can advance their missions in transportation, housing, employment, health care, environmental sustainability, and education.
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.