Saskatoon councillor calls for change to public art policy after $300,000 installation

Saskatoon’s newest art installation has many in the city shaking their heads.

The new installation, called Modern Erratics, was created by Calgary-based artist duo Sans façon and came with a $300,000 price tag.

The three large plastic rocks now sit across the city at Diefenbaker Park, the Forestry Farm and the landfill.

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Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer said the policy that allowed the project to go forward needs to change.

“This was proposed in 2014, and I’m not going to say I’m a fortune teller, but I foresaw some problems with setting large amounts of money aside for something like this,” Donauer said.

“What the policy said when it came in 2014, and we follow it today, is that for any large capital purchase that we do in Saskatoon, if we’re putting up a building or a bridge, we’re going to set aside 1 per cent of that capital budget for art up to a maximum of $500,000 per project, but that’s half a million dollars per project, and things are more expensive now.”

“So the likelihood that we’re going to be spending that kind of money on art is a little bit more common than it was back then,” he said.

Since its first mention in 2014, Donauer said he has attempted to stop the project twice, once in 2014 and again in 2016. Both votes ended in failure.

He said he plans to bring forward a motion to cancel the policy for a third time on Aug. 12 in an attempt to get some meaningful results.

“My motion is that we recommend to council that this one policy be canceled, not the entire public art policy and not all of our art funding, but this one. I find this one problematic. Number one, because it’s going to be regularly that we’re committing this. Number two, it’s a very large amount of money that I think is out of sync with what should be our spending priorities,” he said.

Donauer said he has heard a tremendous amount of feedback related to the issue, estimating there have been about 150 letters sent to council.

“Many of them are in support of the arts community and this program. Some of them are not. So I think we’re going to hear a diversity of views, and I think council is going to have a diversity of views,” said Donauer.

When it comes to the financial impact of the policy, Donauer said he believes the money could go to better things and council should do everything possible to avoid tax increases, while also being respectful of artists and their work.

“We need to focus on core priorities and run the city much like we run our home. If my roof’s leaking and my foundation’s cracked, I’m probably not out making large art purchases that month,” Donauer said.

“Right now in the City of Saskatoon, I think some people would say the roof’s leaking and the foundation’s cracked, and we need to shore up some of our basic core services.”

“I think art has a place. Should it be $300,000 for one installation? I think most of our residents would say that’s a little bit of a disconnect for them,” he said.