Private Sector Development Program

Private-sector rezonings greater than 100,000 sq. ft. are required to contribute $1.81 (2009 rate) per buildable (FSR) foot to a public art process approved by the City.

Developers are required to engage an experienced public art consultant to coordinate their public art process.  Consultants are responsible for the preparation of art plans and the coordination of artist selection and artwork fabrication, installation and documentation.  A City Council-appointed Public Art Committee provides oversight through its review of art sites, art budgets, artist selection procedures, and community consultation processes.

Project Calls are often distributed through the Public Art mailing list, and are published on our Artist Opportunities page. For information about current and recently completed projects view the Private Sector Highlights or browse the Public Art Registry.

 

Development Options

Developers may fulfill the public art commitment in one of three ways:

• Option A – the preferred Option. Requires full participation in a juried public art process and review by the Public Art Committee.  
• Option B - 100% of the required art budget is paid to the City for allocation through the Public Art Program.
• Option C - a 60/40 percent split whereby the developer spends 60% of the required budget developing artwork for the development lands, and pays at least 40% of the budget to the Public Art Reserve.

The complete Public Art Policies and Guidelines are currently being updated to reflect Program changes recently adopted by City Council. 

For information on these changes in advance of their publication, please contact Bryan Newson, program manager, at 604.871.6002 or bryan.newson@vancouver.ca.

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Private Sector Project Highlights

Below is a small sample of private sector works in the City's Public Art collection. Explore more of Vancouver's art online through the Public Art Registry.

• Recently installed works include Watercourse by Elyn Zimmerman for Bentall Properties; VGH Energy Centre by Alan Storey; Weathervane by Rodney Graham; Double Blind by Antonia Hirsch; Douglas Senft’s turn at Canadian Tire on Grandview Hwy, and Tom Dean’s Peaceable Kingdom at King Edward Village.
  
  
• Time Top by Jerry Pethic for Concord Pacific Group is a major work installed in 2006. Time Top is a sculpture based on a children’s cartoon about time traveling. The artist created what looks like a 1940’s-style space ship that was then submerged so that the surface would become encrusted with sea life attracted by a low-level electrical charge. Its position on the shoreline encourages the idea that it has washed up from the depths.

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