City art spending figures released

Nearly $14million worth ofpublic art has been commissioned by the City of Calgary in recent years, according to a report to be presented to council this week.

Since the inception of the public art policy in 2004, the city has completed 26art projects at a cost of $4.7 million and there are 16worksin progress at a cost of $9 million.

Those numbers come from the city's Public Art Program annual report.

The city mandates that one per cent of the cost of all city capital projects worth over $1 million not including costs for land, rolling stock like LRT cars and portable equipment like furniture and computers must be spent on statues, sculptures or other works of art.

"It is a significant commitment to making Calgary a better city," said Ald. Brian Pincott.

"And it's a significant commitment to saying, 'We want Calgarians to experience their city and interact with their city and their community in new and surprising ways.'"