Artwork Installations (including Monuments and Memorials)

The City typically commissions artworks for City-owned property through the Department of Cultural Affairs’ Percent for Art Program. The sponsoring City agency and the Percent for Art Program are jointly responsible for the selection of the artist and the development of the work of art. A member of the PDC serves as an advisor on the Percent for Art artist selection panel. Once the proposal is approved by both the sponsoring agency and the Percent for Art Program, it is submitted to the Commission for review. A representative of the Percent for Art Program must be present when an artist makes their presentation.

Percent for Art Program and Process

Since 1982, New York City's Percent for Art law has required that one percent of the budget for eligible City-funded construction projects be spent on public artwork. Managed by the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, the Percent for Art program has commissioned hundreds of site-specific projects in variety of media—painting, new technologies, lighting, mosaic, glass, textiles, sculpture, and works that are integrated into infrastructure and architecture—by artists whose sensibilities reflect the diversity of New York City. Percent for Art seeks to commission works from the broadest range of artists from all backgrounds. The Percent for Art Program offers City agencies the opportunity to acquire, commission, or restore works of art specifically for City-owned buildings throughout the five boroughs. By bringing artists into the design process, the City's civic and community buildings are enriched.

Non-Percent for Art Commissions and Gifts

Gifts of existing artworks are rarely accepted, so an artwork should not be fabricated as a gift to the City prior to approval by the PDC. If an outside (non-City) group or a City agency proposes to commission an artwork for City property outside of the Percent for Art Program, the artist selection process must be led by an art professional with experience organizing public art commissions and the process must mimic the City’s Percent for Art program. This fair and open process must include public input, a diverse list of artists, and an artist selection panel comprising at least three independent art professionals and, if possible, a member of the Percent for Art staff. Any proposal for an artwork installation must first be approved by the City agency that owns the property where the artwork will be sited. The proposal must be submitted to the PDC for review by that City agency or by the relevant capital construction managing agency.

Monuments and Memorials

Before preparing a submission, please review the Public Design Commission's general guidelines on Monuments and Memorials.

The Public Design Commission supports the installation of monuments and memorials to commemorate people, places, and events significant to New York City’s history. The PDC discourages memorials for people, places, and events that have been recognized as significant for a period of less than 20 years, unless they are of exceptional importance. Memorials to living persons will not be considered. A professional historian with expertise in the subject of the monument/memorial must establish the significance of the subject and thoroughly vet any proposed text and images.

The PDC strongly recommends that anyone planning a monument to a woman or women reference the list of public nominations for She Built NYC, the City’s initiative to commission public monuments honoring the women.

Temporary Art Installations

The Commission does not review artworks that will be installed for less than one year (“temporary”). However, if there is any likelihood that a temporary artwork will be in place for more than 365 days, the project should be submitted for review before the artwork is installed. Artworks should not be installed under a temporary program with the expectation that permanent approval of existing artworks is a certainty.

PDC Application Process

At the initiation of any project on or over City-owned property, the team should reach out to the Department of Cultural Affairs' Percent for Art team and fill out the project initiation form before a process for the artist or artwork selection is determined.  

Artworks may be installed within buildings, on the facades of buildings or structures, or outside in public plazas or parks. Artworks may include but are not limited to sculptures, bas reliefs, engravings, paintings, mosaics, photographs, and electronic media.

Before preparing a submission, please review the PDC checklists and supplemental instructions documents. For reference, the PDC also provides a searchable sample presentations collection that includes submission documents for a limited number of previously reviewed and approved projects. Please refer to the checklist and instructions provided below to ensure that submissions are complete, and include the completed checklist with submission packages.

→ Download the Submission Checklist and Instructions for Artwork Installations

For Artwork Installations, the PDC design review process requires submission at various levels of review as the project is developed, including:

Conceptual: Occurs early in the process, when the artist has a vision and a concept for the artwork, but detailed drawings and a model have typically not been completed.
Conceptual & Preliminary: Limited to artworks that were acquired through the one-panel Percent for Art Process, or where the limited budget limits the artwork to a pre-determined artwork location and materiality.
Preliminary Review: Occurs when the design has been fully developed, and approval at this stage means that a work of art can be fabricated and installed.
Final: Occurs when the design has been fully installed and the team has submitted archival-quality photographs, in color, documenting the completed work.

The PDC also requires submissions for post-approval actions, including:

Amended Conceptual: If any significant design changes are made in design development subsequent to conceptual approval, the project must be submitted for PDC review and approval prior to proceeding to fabrication drawings.
Amended Preliminary: Only required if there are any changes to the approved preliminary proposal,
including changes that must be made during construction/fabrication.
Extension of Approval: Required if the approval expires before construction/fabrication begins, a formal request for an extension must be submitted by the agency.