Propose Public Art In Boston

First, you will need to submit a Public Art and Design Proposal. Public Art staff from MOAC will review your proposal for completeness and may need to follow up with you for additional information before scheduling you for a presentation at the BAC. We want to work with you to make sure your proposal can be approved by the Commission and will flag any issues or missing details to create the best opportunity for project approval. 

This means that submission of a Public Art and Design Proposal does not guarantee your project’s inclusion on the agenda of the next meeting of the BAC. In order to allow enough time for any back and forth with Public Art staff, we highly encourage you to submit your proposal at least six weeks before your target BAC review date. Once we have all the information the BAC will need to review, you will be invited to submit a presentation to a meeting of the BAC by a Public Art Project Manager.

Your proposal will include information about your project, with all the whats, wheres, whens, and whys of your project. The Public Art and Design Proposal also helps us understand your role, if you are approaching this as the artist, organizer, or producer, and where you are in the process of creating your project. This allows us to advise you on next steps, like talking to neighbors or working with an engineer, and connect you to any necessary city partners. We encourage you to submit this with as much information as possible so we can better understand how to support the actualization of your vision!

You can read a more detailed guide of what you’ll need to share here as outlined in our Public Art Policy.

All Public Art and Design Proposals are first reviewed by a Public Art Project Manager within two weeks of submission. This allows us to check if your submission is complete, provide technical feedback, and determine the permissions your project requires. Permissions may vary depending on whether the City of Boston property is a library, school, park, street, sidewalk (and the areas above them), or other site. The review period may vary by project complexity, and whether the request is for long-term or temporary artwork.

Once we review your submission and you answer any initial technical questions with the Public Art Project Managers, we will connect you with the appropriate department or agency that manages the property to request permission for use of the site. Depending on the nature of the project, you may also need review from an additional commission (like Landmarks or the Conservation Commission) or department. 

Temporary artworks, which are intended to be installed for five years or fewer, require only one review and public meeting for Final Design, including installation and deinstallation. Long-term artworks are intended to be installed for five years or more and will require four BAC reviews and public meetings during key project phases. These phases are as follows: 

• Artist Selection
• Preliminary Design Finalization, 
• Completion of Engineering and Installation plans
• Acceptance into the City of Boston Public Art Collection once the artwork is complete.

After gaining permission from the site manager for temporary proposals or developing a clear pathway to gain all permissions for long-term proposals, the Public Art Project Managers will check in with you to determine if the project is ready for review at a public meeting. At this point, you should make sure you have done all the public outreach your project would benefit from before you bring it to a public meeting.

All artworks proposed for the City of Boston property are reviewed at these public meetings held by the BAC. Please join us!

During meetings of the BAC, community members are welcome to attend and encouraged to assist in our ongoing process of developing a broader and more inclusive understanding of public art. We support commentary on the City of Boston’s vibrant public art landscape and encourage constituents to use these meetings as a forum and opportunity to reflect, engage, and inform the direction of public art in our city.  All are welcome to share insight and feedback by submitting public testimony here.

Keep talking to your neighbors and share your plans! We’d love to hear what you are up to—share project updates by emailing BAC@Boston.gov to keep us in the loop, and share about your project on social media.