Municipal Art Fund.
Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 304-27
in effect304-27. Municipal Art Fund.
1. PUBLIC SUPPORT OF THE VISUAL ARTS. It is the policy of the city that a portion of the appropriations for capital expenditures be set aside for the acquisition of works of art to be used for city buildings and public facilities in order to encourage an appreciation of the visual arts and the development of artists and craftsmen.
2. DEFINITIONS.
a. "Appropriation" means an amount not to exceed one percent of the structure and building funds in the city's capital improvement projects which are authorized annually by the common council for expenditure.
b. "Artist" means a practitioner in the visual arts, generally recognized by critics and his or her peers as a professional who produces works of art.
c. "Board" means the Milwaukee arts board.
d. "Construction project" means any capital project paid wholly or in part by the city of Milwaukee to construct or remodel any building, decorative or commemorative structure, or major portion thereof, within the limits of the city of Milwaukee.
e. "Works of art" shall mean all forms of original creations of visual art, including:
e-1. Sculpture: in the round, bas-relief, high relief, mobile, fountain, kinetic, electronic, etc., in any material or combination of materials.
e-2. Painting: in all media, including portable and permanently affixed works, such as murals.
e-3. Graphic arts: printing and drawing.
e-4. Mosaics.
e-5. Photography.
e-6. Crafts: in clay, fiber and textiles, wood, metal, glass, plastics and other materials.
e-7. Calligraphy.
e-8. Mixed media: any combination of forms or media, including collage.
3. FUNDS FOR WORKS OF ART.
a. Estimate. All city departments shall include in those estimates of necessary construction expenditures and all requests for authorizations or appropriations for projects as defined an amount for works of art not to exceed one percent of the total cost of any such construction project as estimated in the capital improvements program for the year in which such estimate or request is made. If the source of funding or other appropriate law with respect to any particular project precludes art as an object of expenditure of funds, the amount of funds so restricted shall be excluded from the total project cost in making the aforesaid calculation.
b. Separate Account. All appropriations for works of art arising from the common council's authorization of those construction projects in the capital improvements program shall be so noted in the responsible agency's program and such appropriations shall be deposited in a separate capital revenue account known as the municipal arts fund which is herewith established by this section, together with such other funds as the common council may appropriate for works of art.
4. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD.
a. In addition to its duties and responsibilities as set forth in s. 320-12, the board shall:
a-1. Determine the allocation of money to be expended on the various works of art for construction projects.
a-2. Determine the method or methods of selection and commissioning of artists with respect to design, execution and placement of works of art for which appropriations have been made and pursuant to such method or methods, select and commission artists by contract for such purposes.
a-3. Require that any proposed work of art requiring extraordinary operational or maintenance expenses shall receive prior approval of the department involved.
a-4. Request the common council to authorize payments for the design execution, and placement of works of art from appropriations made by the municipal arts fund
b. The board shall assure, in the overall program, that reasonable diversity is attained in the selection of public art works as to the style, scale, media, and materials represented by such works of art.
c. The board shall promulgate such rules and regulations which shall be submitted to the common council for approval, as needed, to carry out its responsibilities.
Source: City of Milwaukee Legislative Reference Bureau, Milwaukee City Charter and Code of Ordinances (city.milwaukee.gov master PDFs)URL: https://city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/ccClerk/Ordinances/Volume-3/CH304.pdf#page=12Fetched: 10/26/2026