Public Art

Scope

All exterior art installations on Indiana University property.

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Policy Statement

1. All permanent structural exterior art installations are subject to review and approval by the Board of Trustees, typically after full discussion by the Facilities Committee. Projects are brought to the Committee by the Office of the Vice President for Capital Planning & Facilities with its recommendations as to location and installation criteria. The President, pursuant to delegation of authority by the Board of Trustees, has authority to approve all other exterior art installations, including permanent exterior art installations and student or faculty exhibits. Such other permanent exterior art installation must still be reviewed for location and installation criteria through the Office of the Vice President for Capital Planning & Facilities even if review and approval by the Board of Trustees is not required.
2. The President has the authority to delegate, to the Campus Art Committee on a campus and/or others as the President sees fit, to recommend any temporary outdoor installation or any student exhibit, and the Committee’s charge shall be established by the President or the President’s designee.
3. All exterior art installations, whether permanent or temporary, shall be reviewed by the University Landscape Architect and the department on each campus charged with maintenance of the physical plant with regard to location, installation criteria and for compliance with safety, structural and code requirements. The Office of Insurance, Loss Control & Claims is responsible for insurance arrangements.
4. Each campus should seek to collaborate with the adjoining community in planning for public art installations on lands adjoining the campus.

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Reason for Policy

To ensure that all exterior changes to each Indiana University campus are subject to appropriate and consistent review. To support the special role Indiana University plays in contributing to the cultural and aesthetic dimensions of the state by encouraging each campus to promote its unique exceptional beauty and to create opportunities for the visual arts to take their proper place in the cultural life of the community of which each campus is a part.

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Procedures

1. The President shall determine the members to be included on the Campus Arts Committee for each campus of Indiana University.
2. The responsibilities of the Campus Arts Committee are to make recommendations to the  President regarding:
   1. Temporary outdoor installations as defined in this policy;
   2. Complaints or other matters referred by the Chancellor;
   3. Plans for permanent installations;
   4. Acceptance of gifts of art or of monies to acquire works of art affected by this policy;
   5. Repair, restoration, or removal of public art;
   6. Public art for heavily trafficked interior space.

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Definitions

Temporary exterior art installations: Those installed for periods of less than one year in a campus-designated site reviewed periodically with the University Architect, the campus master planner, and other university officials as needed.

Student exhibits: Student and alumni works temporarily displayed by a campus School or Department of Art: those installed for periods less than six months in a site recommended by the School or Department.

Permanent exterior art installations:  Those installed permanently in the exterior of any building.

Physical Plant: The unit on each campus that is responsible for maintenance of buildings and grounds.

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History

This policy was established on February 26, 1999, and revised by resolution of the Board of Trustees on February 14, 2014.

Non-substantive updates to references and contacts were made to this policy in July 2019.

In July 2024, references to the renamed IU Indianapolis campus were updated in this policy.

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