Public Art Could Come To Princeton Soon, Proposal Gets Council Go-Ahead

PRINCETON, NJ — For several years, James Steward of Princeton University Art Museum and Adam Welch of the Arts Council of Princeton, have been working on a proposal for a new public art masterplan.

On Monday, Steward and Welch made a presentation to Council on the proposal earning a go-ahead from officials.

Under the proposal, the artwork would be installed across public spaces in the Municipality, stimulating learning about art, society and community in general.

In 2018, a Public Arts Committee was created in Princeton under the leadership of former Mayor Liz Lampert. The Committee, which was chaired by Steward, lacked funding preventing them from working proactively on the project.

Steward and Welch then went on to shape a new community arts plan that “would be more robust in its goals thanks both to investments in leadership and a designated funding stream.”

Steward suggested that the public artwork installation should be overseen by a five to eight-member public art committee made up of local experts.

Welch and Steward recommended a funding model wherein the newly formed committee could be funded by levying a 1 percent fee on the cost of commercial and commercial residential capital projects paid into a public art fund. Exceptions could include affordable housing, individual residential projects and nonprofits.

“We are recommending that the 1 percent fee would only attach to capital projects whose budgets are a million dollars or greater,” Steward said.

Several municipalities across the country have had such a model. “Philadelphia to my research seems to have been the earliest which passes a model of this kind all the way back in 1959; New York City followed suit in 1982,” Steward said.

He also cites municipalities like Scottsdale, AZ; Ann Arbor, MI; Asheville, NC; Morristown, NJ; and Jersey City, NJ that follow a similar model. In total 27 municipalities have such funding programs in place.

Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros said the time was ripe for a public arts project in the Municipality. “It seems like a golden moment where we have the resources that are there, that hopefully we can leverage at this moment,” Pirone Lambros said.

“And then there’s the resources of James and Adam and others in the community. We are so fortunate to have that kind of input. We have incredible heritage, history and culture in our town. Brining all this together and being able to create placemaking and public art at this moment, seems to be a natural.”

Steward added that the Rats Council was currently going through a “robust” period and with the new Arts Museum opening in 2025, “the nation’s eyes will be on the visual arts energy of this community.”

Councilman David Cohen asked Steward what the criteria would be for selecting public art.

“I think there are really robust traditions of artists who elect to work in public spaces specifically because they are drawn to that publicness, accessibility. Many artists are very keen to assure there are audiences for their work and dialogues and that it is not a form that is available only to an educated subset of a community,” Steward said.

He noted that the world is riddled with bad public art and hence the community would need an informed committee leading the charge.

“I’m a believer that good public art can be rewarding, challenging, engaging, beautiful, and many different things, but it requires real thought and the selection of just the right makers,” Steward said.

Councilman Leighton Newlin said with Steward and Welch at the helm of the project, he has confidence the project would be “done right.”

Councilwoman Leticia Fraga said she was happy to see the proposal being brought forward. “This is something I support, and I look forward to seeing the details fleshed out,” Fraga said.

Mayor Mark Freda suggested adding “common folk” to the proposed committee of experts. To watch the entire presentation and discussion, click here.

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