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Article: The welcome pole: public art, process, and controversy.
- Article from:
- Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society
- Article date:
- January 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Public art can be a challenge even to jurisdictions that commonly undertake such projects and have model procurement processes. But that challenge is greater for jurisdictions that only rarely purchase public art. In this article, we present the case of the Port of Olympia's involvement with a totem pole. The acquisition of this public artwork went very badly, so badly that some seven years after the totem pole was commissioned and a few years after it was ready to be installed, it remains in storage.
A robust case can be made for public art. For example, as the focus in political science has turned to civic participation, the arts have become increasingly ...