Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced a grant program to support public art projects in the US. The New York Times explains:

“Public Art Challenge,”[…] will give at least three cities up to a million dollars each over two years to develop art projects that “celebrate creativity, enhance urban identity, encourage public-private partnerships and drive economic development.” The money will be available to any city in the United States or its territories with more than 30,000 residents and is intended to serve as a catalyst to draw broad support to projects, not to pay for them entirely.

The grants come at a time of declining public support for the arts. A report by Grantmakers in the Arts in 2013 found that, after adjusting for inflation, government funding dedicated to the arts decreased by more than 30 percent from 1992 to 2013.

In a statement, Bloomberg Philanthropies said work from “all artistic disciplines” – including the performing arts and multimedia projects – would be considered. Applications are due by mid-December and the grant winners will be announced next May.

Here are some of the details from the site:

SELECTION CRITERIA

Excellent, innovative public art project
Potential for positive impact on the host city
Proof of clear, specific partnership between local government and artists and/or arts organizations
Evidence of technical feasibility of the project idea and its implementation (i.e. staff, consultants, fabricators, engineers, strategy for regulatory approvals, etc.)
Appropriate budget and capacity to leverage other sources of support
Strong marketing and audience engagement strategy
Commitment to evaluating outcomes

Bloomberg Grants to Provide Millions for Public Art Projects  (NYTimes.com)