From the Team

U.S. DOT to Study State Public Art Practices

Every year, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)—administered by the Transportation Research Board division of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine and supported by state departments of transportation and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)—gathers to select topics of study for the upcoming fiscal year as part of its synthesis project. The aim of the project is to identify and report current practices for specific highway topics relevant to state DOTs. NASAA recently consulted on one of the topics the project committee selected for this upcoming fiscal year, Practices Related to Public Art in State DOT Rights-of-Way and Facilities.

As part of the information gathering portion of the topic selection process, NASAA Research Director Mohja Rhoads provided information to the U.S. DOT and other federal agencies on current cross-sector collaborations between the arts and transportation. Moreover, her Strategy Sampler, Arts in Transportation: State Infrastructure Partnerships, was cited as part of an initial literature review for the synthesis project. The Strategy Sampler provides specific case studies on partnerships between state arts agencies (SAAs) and the transportation sector, including state DOTs, as well as strategies and practices for initiating and sustaining these partnerships.

The NCHRP synthesis will document information highly relevant to SAA public art programming, practices and partnerships, including information related to:

practices and policies related to types of art installations, ownership rights, liability, transportation facility types where art is allowed (new or existing), maintenance, cooperative contracts and maintaining clear zones;
programming/funding practices to acquire, install and maintain public art;
planning practices to consider public art (project concepting, long-range or corridor planning, and how the public is engaged);
sources of interest in public art (e.g., internal, external or both) and if/how public benefit is measured;
staffing of public art programs;
policies for public art deaccessions; and
state statutes that enable, limit or prohibit public art programs.

Currently, the NCHRP is soliciting panel nominations for the synthesis project, which can be submitted here, and letters of interest from individuals or organizations interested in serving as the principal investigator, which can be submitted here. (You must create an account with the Transportation Research Board to make a submission.)

For more information on cross-sector collaborations between SAAs and the transportation sector, contact Mohja Rhoads. Visit NASAA’s Public Art Resources Page for more information on SAA public art special initiatives, grant programs and percent for art policies.