Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Friday said he is looking to change how the city’s Art Commission functions, weeks after removing all prior commissioners from their posts.

Gainey’s office and the Department of City Planning proposed to split the Art Commission into two separate committees — one that will review public art and another that will review civic design. Currently, both areas are under the purview of a unified Art Commission.

The mayor’s office said in a statement that the change aims to allow for “focused areas of expertise” and provide “more specific review criteria” for each committee.

“These legislative changes provide us with an incredible opportunity to examine the right role of government in the public realm,” Gainey said. “They aim to improve the form and function of the Art Commission and lay the groundwork for improved public art and civic (design) review processes.”

This comes weeks after Gainey dismissed all of the city’s current Art Commissioners, a move that some commissioners said could lead to a lack of institutional knowledge on the commission.

The city code that governs Pittsburgh’s public art hasn’t seen a comprehensive update since 1977, said Sarah Minnaert, assistant director of public history, art and design.

“We’re still using 20th century code to plan for a 21st century city. To create a more comprehensive vision for the public realm, we need to rationalize and modernize both the composition and scope of the Art Commission,” Minnaert said.

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Established in 1911, the Art Commission was created to guide the city’s civic design and public art. The commission reviews about 50 applications per year, about 65% of which are related to civic design.

The proposal also looks to change the percent for art program, which stipulates that at least one percent of the amount of municipal construction or renovation of public buildings be reserved for public art. The rule, established in 1977, applies to projects that cost $50,000 or more.

The city department in charge of the project includes the required public art in the project budget. Under Gainey’s proposal, that would change so that the Department of City Planning’s capital budget each year would include funds for public art equivalent to one percent of the total construction or renovation projects slated that year.

The idea, the mayor’s office said, is to centralize the percent for art funding so that city officials can prioritize art in communities that need it most.

The city also is working to finalize a Public Art Trust Fund, which would collect contributions to the Public Art Performance Point program, which was established in Pittsburgh’s zoning code in 2018. The performance point system allows developers to increase the density in their developments by incorporating community priorities, including public art.

The fund also would be able to receive private charitable donations, matching funds from charitable entities and budgeted transfers from the general fund.

Gainey’s office submitted their proposed legislation to City Council. The measure could be introduced there as early as next week.

The changes will take effect immediately upon receiving approval from City Council.

Depending on how quickly council acts on the measure, it could be approved in time for the Art Commission’s first meeting of 2023.

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