New! Public Art Collection Audio Tour

The City's Public Art Collection audio tour is expanding! To visit the website for the Public Art Collection Audio Tour, click here. Download the Otocast app available both for Android and iOS. The audio tour acts as a personal tour guide for the City of Sarasota's public art. You can read a short description of the artwork, find links to related websites, watch videos, scroll through a photo gallery, or listen to a custom narrative.

Our Collection

The City of Sarasota is committed to the aesthetic enrichment of the community through private and public acquisition of works of art so that citizens and visitors to the City are afforded an opportunity to enjoy and appreciate art. The City of Sarasota's Public Art Program hosts a Public Art Collection of over 95 works of art citywide. Below are some of the mandatory and non-mandatory criteria for accepting a work of art in the City's Public Art Collection.

Mandatory Criteria

The following mandatory criteria must be satisfied for approval of artwork into the Public Art Collection:

• Whether the proposed public art conforms to the definition of public art set for in the City's Zoning Code section II-201
  • Public art or public works of art: Public art or public works of art is defined as the creative application of skill and taste by artists to production of permanent tangible objects according to the aesthetic principles, including but not limited to: paintings, sculptures, site specific installations, engravings, carvings, frescos, mobiles, murals, collages, mosaics, statues, and bas-reliefs. Public art or public works of art shall also include the creative application of skill and taste by artists according to aesthetic principals to the architectural embellishment of a building 
• Whether the proposed public art meets or exceeds the value requirements of section VII-701 
  •  Developer contributed art must be 0.5% of the construction cost for the development project
• Whether the proposed public art is compatible with the neighborhood and not injurious to the neighborhood or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare; 
• Whether the proposed public art presents a safety hazard to the public; 
• Whether signs or other encroachments are or should be set back a certain distance from the proposed public art.

Non-Mandatory Criteria

The following non-mandatory criteria is also considered:

• Whether the proposed public art is of exceptional quality and enduring value
• Whether the proposed public art serves to further the city's goal of promoting cultural diversity
• Whether the proposed public art serves to further the city's goal of promoting a broad range of artistic styles and media from traditional to contemporary works of art in order to maintain overall balance within the city
• Whether the proposed public art is supportive of the city's vision and goals
• Whether the proposed public art is appropriate to the site
• Whether the proposed public art should be installed at the proposed location on a site or at a different location
• Whether the proposed public art requires extraordinary maintenance, such as any special servicing due to periodic adjustment, repainting, or repair or replacement of moving parts