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Posted: Jul 26, 2010 6:02 PM
Updated: Jul 27, 2010 6:51 AM
By Jennifer Loren, The Oklahoma Impact Team
OKLAHOMA CITY-- Right now Oklahoma is cutting funding to agencies and programs across the state because of the shrinking budget. At the same time state agencies are spending millions of dollars on public artwork. Why? Because lawmakers told them they have to.
Some of the most visible projects are the designs going up along Oklahoma's highways as part of bridges, overpasses and sound barrier walls. They're funded as part of a state law enacted in 2004 called the Art in Public Places Act.
It applies to every agency, department, board, council and commission of the state. When constructing new buildings and infrastructure or renovating the old, each organization must take one and a half percent of the design and construction costs and re-allocate it to incorporate some type of art. It applies to projects on state-owned property with a price tag of $250,000 or more.
So far five projects have been completed as part of the art in public places program. The bridge over the Turner Turnpike with an Osage shield was the first to be completed in 2008. When the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority rebuilt the bridge, it spent $120,000 on the mosaic-style art. The Turnpike Authority is not a state agency, but because the highways are state-owned, it falls under the art mandate.
When the Grand River Dam Authority built an Ecosystems and Education Center in Langley they spent about $60,000 on a terrazzo floor which doubles an educational map of Grand Lake. In fact, every piece of art is required to contain an educational component.
A bronze sculpture depicting a Native American man with coin jewelry sits near the State Capitol. It was funded when the State Banking Department put up their new building. The required cost was $145,000... FULL ARTICLE
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Sat, November 27, 2010
by Crystal Drwenski