MADISON ARTS COMMISSION.
Madison General Ordinances § 33.35
in effect33.35 - MADISON ARTS COMMISSION.
(1) Purpose. The arts are an intrinsic expression of human life. Thriving communities enjoy shared experiences of diverse and abundant arts and culture. Arts investments create jobs, leverage private gifts, build a sense of place, invite tourism, revitalize neighborhoods, attract creative people, cultivate democracy, preserve cultural legacy, generate local tax revenue, and enhance our quality of life. The Madison Arts Commission exists to fund artistic activities and support cultural programs that integrate and advance arts and culture as an essential part of life in Madison.
(2) Definitions.
(a) "Commission" means Madison Arts Commission.
(b) "Municipal Arts Fund" means the fund identified in Sec. 33.35(7).
(3) Structure. Madison Arts Commission shall be a commission of the Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development and shall be staffed by the Arts Program Administrator within the Planning Division of the Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development or her/his designee.
(4) (a)
Commission Membership. The Commission shall consist of eleven (11) resident members including one (1) alderperson. The remainder of the Commission shall be made up of representatives from the following categories, with at least one representative from each: (Am. by ORD-17-00030, 3-8-17)
1. Art educators (early, primary, secondary, and/or post secondary),
2. Creative sector commerce (individuals engaged in commercial enterprises in the arts including but not limited to: advertising, design, film, music, performing arts, publishing, research and development, software, toys and games, TV and radio, art studios, galleries, and video games).
3. Creative disciplines related to shaping the built environment (artists or administrators who engage in professional level public art, architecture, landscape architecture).
4. Creative workers (individuals whose professional or volunteer contributions are based on creative content such as actors, writers, visual artists, musicians, dancers, and those who promote, facilitate or manage creative content or events).
(b) Terms. The terms of all commission members shall be for three (3) years or until their successors are qualified. However, the term of the alder member shall be for one year pursuant to Sec. 33.01(6)(a), and the members appointed to the first term following the effective date of this ordinance shall be appointed to staggered terms. Three (3) members shall serve an initial term of one (1) year, three (3) shall serve an initial term of two (2) years, and four (4) shall serve an initial term of the full three (3) years. No member shall serve more than two (2) consecutive three-year terms. However, the six (6) members appointed to the first term after the effective date of this ordinance who serve an initial term of less than three (3) years, and any member appointed to fill the unexpired term of a former member, shall be eligible to serve two (2) full consecutive three-year terms thereafter. Other than the term of the alderperson, all terms shall expire on April 30th and begin on May 1st. (Am. by ORD-26-00017, 4-3-26)
(c) Conduct of Members. All members shall be allowed to vote on any agenda item, except no member may:
1. Use or attempt to use her/his position to obtain financial gain or anything of value or any advantage, privilege or treatment for the private benefit of herself/himself or her/his immediate family, or for an organization with which she/he is associated.
2. Use her/his position in a way that produces or assists in the production of a benefit, direct or indirect, for her/him or a member of her/his immediate family either separately or together, or for an organization with which the member or her/his immediate family is associated.
3. When a matter in which a member(s) should not participate comes before the commission, the member shall not participate in that portion of the body's meeting involving discussion, deliberations, and votes related to the matter; and, if a member of the commission requests the disqualified member to leave the room, that member shall physically absent herself/himself from that portion of the meeting involving discussion, deliberations and votes related to that matter, and the minutes of the meeting shall reflect her/his absence. See Sec. 3.35(5)(f)3., Madison General Ordinances.
4. The above provisions are included as a reminder that the City's Ethics Code, Sec. 3.35 of these ordinances, applies in its entirety and should guide the conduct of each member.
(5) Budget. An amount established during the annual budget process shall be deposited through direct appropriation in the account of the Municipal Arts Fund. The Commission may provide for the commitment of unrestricted funds to art projects located anywhere within the City of Madison or on City-owned property outside the City of Madison. Monies contributed to or donated for the Municipal Arts Fund shall be expended by the Commission for projects and any unexpended funds shall be carried over automatically in the Municipal Arts Fund for a period of five (5) years. Any funds carried over for five (5) years, and still unexpended at the expiration of such period shall be transferred to the General Fund; provided, however, that funds derived from revenue or general obligation bond issues or from utility revenues or other special purpose or dedicated funds shall revert to the funds from which appropriated at the expiration of the five (5) year period.
(6) Commission Authority. To carry out its responsibilities hereunder, the Commission shall:
(a) Advise the Mayor and the Common Council with regard to policies, budgets, and regulations related to the arts, culture, and creative commerce;
(b) Implement the city's public art program, including but not limited to purchasing works of art or purchasing, commissioning, and siting works of art;
(c) Advise municipal efforts to engage artists and creative workers and the community in a broad range of civic initiatives;
(d) Coordinate and support efforts to unite and focus municipal programs and services as they relate to arts and cultural activities and creative sector commerce;
(e) Establish and administer guidelines and procedures for distributing grants, issuing requests for proposals for creative services, and making recommendations of selections and awards to the Common Council;
(f) Review the performance of external contractors to the city in the areas of arts and culture;
(g) Facilitate periodic cultural planning for the City.
(7) Municipal Arts Fund. The Municipal Arts Fund is a segregated fund in the City Treasury that receives and holds funds appropriated by the Common Council for purchase and expenditures on art activities, including visual and performing arts, as specified in Sec. 33.35(6). Disbursements from such fund shall be made in connection with projects approved by the Commission on vouchers and approved by the Director of Planning and Community and Economic Development or such other person as may be designated for specific projects. The City Treasurer shall pay the necessary warrants and make the necessary transfers.
Members shall be appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Common Council. (Sec. 33.35 Renum. & Am. by ORD-12-00129, 10-24-12)
Source: City of Madison, Wisconsin, Madison General Ordinances (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/wi/madison/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COORMAWIVOIVCH32--45_CH33BOCOCO_33.35MAARCOFetched: 11/1/2026