County to spend $8 million for art at airport
By Ed Fletcher - efletcher@sacbee.com
Published 6:50 pm PDT Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Sacramento County supervisors voted unanimously today how to spend $8 million on public art at Sacramento International Airport's $1.27 billion replacement of Terminal B.
It is the largest art project in county history.
The money comes from passenger fees, concessions and airport parking and does not affect the county's general fund.
With the plan in place, Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission staff can begin soliciting artists that will help make the new terminal a suitable gateway to California's capital city.
Three internationally known artists - Donald Lipski, Lawrence Argent and Christian Moeller - were earlier selected to develop art projects that will be incorporated in the design and construction of the airport terminal.
The plan sets the program timeline, targets locations for public art and sets the budget and eligibility for projects.
The plan calls for a national search for artists on several of the larger budgeted projects. Six of the 14 sites are limited to Northern California artists. One site is limited to an artist from the Sacramento region only.
In earlier action, the board approved $8 million in art-related spending at the new terminal. That plan establishes a $1 million cap on administrative fees, a $2 million endowment to support the art program and $5 million for art projects.