Public Art
The City of Dania Beach is experiencing unprecedented growth with the addition of commercial and residential developments in all sectors of the City. This rapid change to the built environment and influx of new residents, has presented an opportunity to consider the appearance of the City of the future. City leaders recognize the potential to transform Dania Beach for the benefit of citizens, while highlighting its charm, character, potential, and history through public art.
Implementation of the Public Art Plan will result in the establishment of creative gathering spaces. The addition of public art to City locations will ensure that residents continue to be proud of the history and setting of Dania Beach and its aesthetics and creative vitality.
All Public Art Must Obtain a Pre-Approval Before Installation
Whether the art is in a publicly owned or private space, all public art in Dania Beach must undergo an application review and approval process before the art is installed. Once an application is submitted, the Public Art Advisory Board will review and make a recommendation to the City Commission for a final vote.
Purpose and Guidelines
The Public Art Plan provides a flexible process for making specific decisions about public art and identifies key opportunities for commissioned artwork throughout the City. The Plan should be used as a guide for determining how public art funds are used, for setting priorities, developing an annual work plan, and as a tool for achieving the best public art outcomes.
The Public Art Plan and Guidelines will:
Identify goals and key locations for public art
Provide an overview of types of public art
Support the implementation of the public art ordinance
Outline a process for utilizing public art funds
Identify the roles and responsibilities of Dania City Commission and staff, advisory boards, and private developers
Define a process for the selection of art that emphasizes inclusion of the community at every milestone
Recommend a review process for public art incorporated into private development projects
Public art in Dania Beach will build the character of public spaces and shape a new cultural and aesthetic history for the City. Additionally, it will:
Be unlike any other public art program in the region
A Citywide program for all to enjoy
Create an attraction for visitors and residents
Delight and inspire viewers
Reflect the diversity, culture, and history of the City, and be a vehicle for equity and inclusion
Contribute to the economic success of businesses
Add cultural value to the City
Serve as a platform for innovation and collaboration between City departments and advisory boards
Enhance the built environment and make creative spaces for people
Connect the community, City planners, architects, City agencies, and City leaders through dialogue
Promote gathering and pedestrian activity
Create opportunities for local artists
TYPES OF PUBLIC ART
SIGNATURE SCULPTURES
Signature sculptures are artworks that have a particular meaning for a city, and are commissioned for
a single, specific location and found nowhere else in the world. These artworks should be accessible,
inclusionary, and reflect the diverse cultures of Dania Beach. An online presence that provides additional
opportunities to interact with City sculptures will expand the reach of the Public Art Program.
TEMPORARY ART
Art that is displayed for a limited period of time is referred to as
temporary art. The artwork may be borrowed from its owner or
commissioned for the display period. Some temporary artworks
such as environmental art may be designed to naturally deteriorate,
disappear, or disintegrate over a period of time.
There are many advantages to hosting regular or occasional temporary art
events. For example, temporary art can be used to introduce communities to
public art, build an audience, or to facilitate participation in decisions about
public art. Temporary art can be used to create energy and transform the
perception of a place or neighborhood. This type of art, in interior or exterior
spaces, can be an opportunity for experimentation and pilot programming.
Hosting displays of work by national artists will enhance Dania Beach’s
reputation as a place to engage with high quality art and culture.
Temporary art can be portable for movement from place to place. It may be
returned to the artist following the conclusion of an agreed upon exhibition
period. Outdoor temporary work needs to meet applicable building code
permit requirements.
INTERACTIVE ART
The viewer becomes a participant in interactive art, thus giving the art new meaning or context.
Examples include art that is designed to be walked through or played on. Interactive art might change in appearance
depending on the viewer's proximity to it. Or, the artwork may require human interaction such as turning a crank, be
dependent on technology, or activated through a touch screen.
ENVIRONMENTAL ART
Environmentally-based artworks may be visual manifestations of
environmental conditions, exploratory or educational in nature, or
solve an environmental problem. Environmental art may encourage
sustainable practices and conservation, or it can be functional.
Materials may include those found in nature, such as stones or sticks, that are
repurposed by the artist. Examples include storm water collectors and artist designed permeable surfaces that ensure water absorption into the ground.
FUNCTIONAL ART
Functionally integrated art enhances standard building and landscape components with unique artistic elements.
This type of art ranges from bike racks and benches to play structures and plaza design.
Public art can be part of a strategy for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, an approach to urban and architectural
design that minimizes crime. A professional artist should be commissioned for design of functionally integrated art, whereas a project
architect or engineer might assist the artist with integrating the design into capital improvement projects.
Signs and logos are generally the realm of specialists and are not funded with public art allocations.
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
During a residency, artists may be given the opportunity to study a specific location and then propose, or initiate creative
solutions to community challenges.
The artist may be provided with studio space within a facility or could be commissioned to creatively document an activity or milestone.
Artists in Residence are not required to live on site, nor are they necessarily given studio space. They are required to collaborate with the
city, and the public, and create connections within the community.