Saskatoon City Council Could End Public Art Funding on August 12
On August 12, Saskatoon’s Governance and Priorities Committee will consider a motion to remove the Civic Capital Project Public Art Funding Stream from the City’s Public Art Policy entirely.
If you’ve seen the coverage of Modern Erratics, the plastic rock sculptures at Diefenbaker Park, Forestry Farm Park, and the landfill, you may already know part of this story. Here’s the part that hasn’t been as clear: the motion in front of Council isn’t about that one project. It’s about whether Saskatoon keeps the funding mechanism that brings art into major civic infrastructure at all.
What the motion would actually do
Look around Saskatoon and you’ll find public art in libraries, recreation centres, bridges, and public spaces, including Modern Erratics. That’s not a coincidence. It comes from the City’s Public Art Policy, which has been quietly funding this work for more than a decade.
Here’s how it works: when the City puts $5 million or more toward a big civic capital project, a small share of that budget, up to 1% and capped at $500,000, goes toward public art as part of the build.
Councillor Randy Donauer’s motion, coming to Committee on August 12, would remove this funding stream from the policy entirely. Not review it. Remove it.
Where we stand
The Saskatchewan Arts Alliance is not defending Modern Erratics. Questions about how that project was chosen, communicated, and priced are fair questions, and it’s reasonable for residents and Council to ask them.
What we’re asking Council to protect isn’t any single project. It’s the funding mechanism itself, the policy that has quietly brought art into civic buildings and public spaces for over a decade. A few facts worth knowing:
- This funding only kicks in on major capital projects over $5 million. It has no effect on the City’s everyday spending.
- It’s capped at 1% of the project budget, with a hard ceiling of $500,000, no matter how large the project is.
- Council already decides which projects this funding applies to, at the budget stage, well before any art is commissioned. That safeguard already exists. It’s also why scrapping the whole mechanism isn’t needed to respond to frustration with one project.
- Saskatoon isn’t doing anything unusual here. Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto, and most major Canadian cities fund public art through similar mechanisms tied to civic construction.
What happens if it passes
Removing this funding stream wouldn’t just stop future controversial commissions. It would end the requirement that public art even be considered on the next library, recreation centre, bridge, or major city project, for good.
What you can do
If you want Saskatoon to keep building art into the places we all share, you’ve got two ways to say so, and a deadline: August 12.
- Send a message to your councillor.
- Submit a written comment or register to speak directly to the Governance and Priorities Committee. Registration and written submissions close 5:00 PM, Monday, August 10.
Further reading