Per Cent for Art Scheme
Visual Arts in Cork

In 1997, as a practical means of funding visual arts in Ireland, the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism instituted the Per Cent for Art Scheme. Under this scheme, the budgets for all capital construction projects should include a sum to pay for an Irish art project, subject to certain limits and conditions.

For example:

  • Construction projects up to €2,550,000 may include a maximum art budget of €25,500.
  • Those costing €2,550,000-6,300,000, a further percentage point (up to €12,500) to a maximum art budget of €38,000.
  • Those costing between €6,300,000 and €12,700,000, a further percentage point (up to €13,000) to a maximum art budget of €51,000.
  • Those costing more than €12,700,000, a final percentage point (up to €13,000) to a maximum art budget of €64,000.

The specific Guidelines for the Implementation of the Per Cent for Art Scheme were officially unveiled by Mr. John O'Donoghue, T.D., the Minister for Arts, in The National Gallery of Ireland, in December, 2004.

This levy on building construction recognizes the important contribution made by public art, particularly visual arts like Irish painting, Irish sculpture, to the quality of our immediate environment, and furnishes valuable additional funds to support both individual Irish artists and an increased public awareness of art.

For more information on the Per Cent for Arts Scheme, please contact:

Sarah Doyle,
Arts Unit,
Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism,
Fossa,
Killarney.
Telephone: (+353) 064-27334

Overseas Per Cent For Art Schemes

Similiar percent for art programs operate in most European countries and Australia, as well as many cities and states in North America, although terms and conditions vary. The Quebec authorities stipulate that the budget for all new publicly funded buildings reserve one percent for artwork. New York's civic legislation requires that, in respect of any public building owned by the city, one per cent of the first twenty million dollars building costs, plus a further half of one percent of the rest (up to a maximum sum of $400,000) be devoted to the purchase of fine art. The city of Toronto operates a similar policy but with no upper limit. British percent for art policy is more discretionary and negotiable, in practice rarely reaching the 1 percent mark.

• For facts about the art industry in Ireland, see: Irish Art: Visual Arts Cork.

• How to Update This Mini Review of Per Cent for Art Scheme, Ireland.

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