A is for Art, J is for Jail

Art is for everyone…..or is it?

An Athens Clarke County ordinance allows the Commission to spend up to 1 percent of the budget for any SPLOST project on public art. This pertains to the new as well as, say, the new or the

“It doesn’t require us to spend the money, but it allows it, “ said ACC Commissioner Alice Kinman.

At a work session this week, the Commission heard a staff recommendation to spend $250,000 on public art at the new jail. That represents about half of one percent, Kinman said.

“There was a little uneasiness about spending the money,” she added. “It sounded like a lot of money until staff explained it.”

She said it seemed clear at the meeting that the Commission wanted there to be some art in the building. It would be in the public part of the facility, where employees work and where the public enters, not in the cell area where prisoners are incarcerated.

The staff suggested three locations in the jail for art, after getting input from the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission, which makes recommendations on art projects.

“We will likely approve a smaller number than that, “ Kinman said. “And expect a smaller piece of art.”

The issue will likely surface again at the Commission’s agenda setting meeting on October 20 and could come to a vote at the regular November meeting. 

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Do you think there should be public art in a jail?  Or not. Tell us in the comments below.