Public Art Equity Census catalogs 3,000 pieces, IDs disparities

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Efforts by the Arts Council of Indianapolis to catalog public art works around Marion County helped form the data of its new Public Art Equity Census.

Now that public art disparities have been identified, organizers say it’ll help guide us on how to make improvements.

Within the last year, scouts have been able to identify more than 3,000 pieces of public art visible on public right-of-ways but also identified several public art deserts. Art equity census representatives say having these pieces of art is vital in telling community stories and promoting its value.

Public art is often reflective of the community. That often means a community’s pains and triumphs.

“If I have art in my neighborhood, if I have art in my community, that’s again telling me that my community is valuable. My community is a beautiful place to be in,”researcher Danicia Monet Malone said.

One year ago, the Arts Council and Rokh, in partnership with multiple agencies began an art equity census to identify art in Marion County, who’s creating it, and why it’s there. Key findings outlined disparities and areas to improve.

“One thing we are proud to have identified are public art deserts. These are communities where public art is scarce or public art is not as accessible,” Monet Malone said. “If we’re thinking that public art is a resource and a necessity in our communities, then we should be looking at how we can support these communities.”

Just under 20% of the art did not include an artist signature or marker, creating challenges for researches to accurately measure equity, inclusion, and representation. Of the artist identified, Black, Latino, and Asian artist only accounted for a quarter of the work even though they make up half of the population.

“Anyone’s public space experience shouldn’t be predicted by their race, their gender, or their economic status,” public art director Julia Moore said. “We don’t want to see public art that doesn’t speak to the people that are in the community.

Art Council representatives say the data collected will help improve public art directories, better attribute the artist’s works, and inform civic partnerships to help direct funding. This will allow more artist to identify and share community stories through their work.

“We want to make sure that public art artist who create public art are reflective of the people that live in the community. We want to make sure that the stories of people in neighborhoods are told by artist who have a very deep investment in those stories,” Moore said.

A large percentage of the public art didn’t have a name listed, so in the fall, the Arts Council will kick off a campaign to encourage artists to claim their work.