How Chicago Funds and Selects Its Public Art: A Guide to the Percent for Art Program

Chicago commissions most of its public art through a single, rule-bound pipeline: the Percent for Art ordinance, which reserves 1.33% of the construction budget for qualifying city-owned or city-financed buildings and certain outdoor improvements. The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) administers the program, and the path a project takes depends largely on one number. Projects with an art budget above $10,000 go through a competitive selection process with a panel and mandated community meetings; projects at or below $10,000 are usually awarded as direct commissions. For artists, that threshold determines how to pursue the work. For residents, the process begins with the local alderman, whose notification is the first formal step in shaping what gets installed in a neighborhood.

Navigating Chicago's Public Art Program: An Overview

The Chicago Public Art Program is the city's official machinery for placing art in public space, and DCASE is the agency that runs it. The program's scale is substantial: in 2025, the DCASE Public Art team was managing nearly 40 projects across 19 wards, in airports, transit hubs, viaducts, and other public sites, totaling $10 million in public art investments, according to the department's own description of the program.

The Percent for Art ordinance is the program's backbone, but it is not the only route to a commission. DCASE also manages public art projects initiated by City Council members through discretionary funds and participatory budgeting, which run alongside the ordinance-based pipeline. This guide focuses on the ordinance-driven process, where the rules are most clearly spelled out in the city's published Percent for Art guidelines.

Two features distinguish the program from a purely administrative grant system. First, the money is tied to construction: art funding appears only when the city builds or substantially renovates a qualifying structure. Second, the process is deliberately community-based. The guidelines state plainly that the program is "intended to be both project-specific and community-based," and that intention is enforced through required meetings and outreach steps described below.

The 'Percent for Art' Ordinance: Funding Public Creativity

The ordinance works by attaching art money to bricks and mortar. When the city constructs or undertakes a major renovation of a city-owned or city-financed building or structure, or certain outdoor improvements, 1.33% of that construction budget must be used to commission art at that site. The art is not chosen in the abstract; it is tied to a specific building and its surroundings.

The qualifying buildings named in the guidelines are the everyday infrastructure of city life: libraries, police stations, fire houses, senior centers, and others. That means a new branch library or a renovated fire house carries with it a built-in art budget, and the artwork is commissioned for that location rather than for a general city pool.

The ordinance has been in place since 1978, and over that time hundreds of sculptures, murals, paintings, prints, stained glass, and photographs have been donated, commissioned, or purchased for the Chicago Public Art Collection. Some works sit outdoors, while others occupy semi-enclosed or indoor public spaces. The collection is a lasting civic asset, and the same department that commissions new work is also charged with caring for what already exists.

Pathways for Artists: Competitive vs. Direct Commissions

Once an eligible project is identified, program staff follow a defined sequence, and the first fork in the road is the budget. If the money available for the project is no more than $10,000 — a figure that includes the artist's fee, the cost of fabrication, and the cost of installation — the project will usually be awarded as a direct commission rather than through a competitive process.

For larger projects, the competitive route applies. The guidelines describe a process that includes a project description, an artist selection panel, and community input, with program staff coordinating each stage. Staff may also, though they are not required to, consult with knowledgeable people about what type of artwork suits the specific site before the selection moves forward.

For artists, the practical implication is straightforward. A competitive Percent for Art commission means preparing for a panel review shaped by a specific site and a specific community's stated preferences. A direct commission means the city approaches the opportunity differently, without the full competitive apparatus. The budget threshold, not the artist's preference, determines which pathway a given project follows.

Community at the Core: Mandated Input in Art Selection

Community involvement in Chicago's program is not a courtesy; it is built into the sequence. After a project is identified, program staff notify the local community of the opportunity, and that notification begins with the local alderman, the community's elected representative.

The alderman is asked to help identify community institutions and organizations — historical societies, churches, chambers of commerce, block clubs — as well as individual residents who may be interested, such as neighborhood historians and people known to care about the arts. This step assembles the roster of stakeholders who will be invited into the process.

The engagement requirement has teeth. Chicago's program mandates a minimum of two community meetings for every Percent for Art project, held to gather input on potential artists and the types of artwork residents want, as Patricia Walsh explained in an explainer on percent-for-art programs for Public Art Curious. The result is that neighborhood voices enter the record before an artist is chosen, rather than after a decision has already been made. For residents, the actionable point is early contact: the alderman's office is the first door, and the stakeholder list it helps build determines who hears about the meetings.

Ensuring Longevity: Conservation and Maintenance of the Collection

Commissioning a work is only half the city's obligation. DCASE is responsible for maintaining the hundreds of artworks already installed as part of the Chicago Public Art Collection, a duty that runs alongside its role in commissioning new pieces. The collection spans media — sculpture, murals, painting, print, stained glass, photography — and settings ranging from open outdoor exposure to protected indoor spaces.

That maintenance responsibility matters to artists considering a commission: the city's commitment does not end at installation. It also matters to donors. DCASE determines whether to accept proposed donations of artwork, where donated works are installed, and how they are displayed. The guidelines note that the focus stays on the artwork itself — donor recognition is expected to be minimal and discreet, and donor bricks and branding icons are not accepted.

The conservation duty is what turns a series of individual projects into a permanent civic collection. Each commission adds to a body of work the city has pledged to preserve, which is why the program's stability has endured across changes in leadership since 1978.

Chicago Public Art Commissioning Pathways

The matrix below sorts a prospective public art project by its budget and shows what happens at each stage, so artists and residents can identify the correct process before investing time in either applying or organizing.

Reading the matrix is a two-step exercise. First, classify the project by its total art budget: above $10,000 points to the competitive pathway, at or below $10,000 points to a direct commission. Second, whatever the pathway, expect the community sequence — alderman notification, stakeholder identification, and the meeting minimum on Percent for Art projects — to run alongside the artistic selection. An artist who knows which row a project falls into knows what to prepare: a panel-ready proposal for the competitive route, or a relationship with DCASE staff for the direct route.

Engaging with Chicago's Public Art: Your Next Steps

Artists seeking commissions should first determine the potential project budget to identify the appropriate pathway — the competitive Percent for Art process or a direct commission — while community members should engage with their local alderman early to influence projects in their area. The alderman's office is where the stakeholder list begins, and being on that list is how residents learn of the meetings where artist and artwork preferences are gathered.

The measurable indicator of engagement is concrete: a successful artist application submission to a Percent for Art project, or documented participation in the community meetings held for a specific project. Either one marks the point where a person moves from observing the program to shaping what it installs — and either one is the natural next milestone to watch for when a qualifying construction project appears in your ward.

Sources

• Chicago Public Art Program - Percent For Art Guidelines
• Chicago Public Art Program
• Small Percentage, Big Impact: How Percent for Art Programs Fund Public Art — Publicartcurious