It has come to light in other threads that the city seems to lack an effective means of maintaining our growing artistic assets. As I look at the ever growing list of bronzes, sculptures, fountains, and other artistic works to be placed around town, I cant help but worry about how they are going to be maintained. Especially since the ones we already have are rarely taken care of and have seemingly become a burden. I would love to hear input from others on here for ideas on how to correct this situation. Perhaps if a general consensus is agreed upon we can then present our ideas to the city as a way to help.
One idea I have is to create an "Arts Maintenance Endowment" that would basically be an endowment set aside solely for the purpose of maintaining and repairing our artistic heritage. One source of monies for this endowment would be a percentage of the percentage the city already puts aside for the creation of art. Say 3-5 %. Also any art donated to the city like one of the river parks sculpture must also contribute a like percentage of its cost to this endowment thus enabling the protection of this art in perpetuity. Perhaps federal and state grants could also be found. Anyone else have any ideas or info on this matter?