New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer signed an executive order Friday to establish a public arts funding mechanism.
New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer appeared at a curated art space – the lobby of the Louis L. Redding City County Building – to sign an executive order Friday that sets aside portions of funding for construction and renovation projects to be used for an artistic element – 1% from each project over $50,000.
Allocated funds that are not used would go into a Public Arts Fund.
“New Castle County is joining more than 350 cities and counties across the country today that set aside a portion of their construction budgets for public art,” Meyer said.
Recently, Meyer named members to a New Castle County Public Arts Commission. The group is chaired by Cheryl Mack, co-owner with her husband of The Bridge Art Gallery in Wilmington and the curator of a current exhibition at the City-County Building lobby.
“The impact of arts on a community can be transformative to support raising a generation of creatives, exposing everyone to the arts which equals a generation of creative thinkers and a generation of innovators,” Mack said.
Themed exhibitions, sculptures at facilities such as libraries – many options will be on the table.
“The idea is to enhance our public spaces, but it’s so much more than that too – developing the arts in our community and creating great public spaces for everyone,” New Castle County Councilwoman Dee Durham said.
