AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin City Council is getting ready to make a decision on artist contracts to help fill the city’s airport with home-grown art pieces, according to a city of Austin memo.
As part of the Art in Public Places program, or AIPP, artwork at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Expansion and Development Program, the city will have contracts with artists to beautify the airport in several spots across the property.
The city selected 13 artists, who are all Austin-based, as finalists for the third phase of the AIPP, according to the memo. This comes after concerns were raised after non-local artists were selected for Phase I projects, KXAN reported in March.
They temporarily paused the first phase of the program to ensure “meaningful participation from Austin-based artists,” according to the city. The memo this week explained that the three nationally-known artists “will collaborate with Austin-based artists and the local workforce to complete installations.” Phase two involved seven Texas-based artists, including four from Austin.
In the latest city memo, it said both Phases I and II “laid the groundwork for integrating fairness, sustainability, and public stewardship into every aspect of public art at the airport.”
Phase III of the program includes the following projects, per the city memo:
- Sensory lounge – the total contract cost will not exceed $546K
- Mobility assistance zone – the total contract cost will not exceed $546K
- Low and high energy spaces for children — this includes two contracts, with the total cost to not exceed $546K per artist
- Restroom entry artworks — this includes nine contracts, with the total contract cost to not exceed $80K per artist
“These artists commissions further our mission to tell authentic Austin stories and embed art as an essential element of the built environment,” the city said in the memo. “With this final phase, the airports public art collection will become one of the most significant in the region, reflecting Austin’s diverse, creative, and cultural identity.”
City council will consider final contracts for the 13 Phase III artists at its meeting on July 24.