ROGERS — There is no legal way to display art on public property in Rogers but a group of artists and merchants want to change that by forming an arts council.
“This started about two years ago,” said Clarice Moore, co-owner of The Rabbit’s Lair and Poor Richard’s Art Gallery, both downtown.
A former merchants’ association raised about $6,000 before the organization dissolved into Main Street Rogers, Moore said.
“The money has been there for years. Several of us thought it would be nice to use the money to commission art works that could be displayed on city property downtown, in the bump outs, primarily,” Moore said. “Little did we know, there is a lot more to it than we thought.”
What’s Next
Rogers Art Council
The initial planning has begun for establishment of a Rogers arts council.
The proposal will be presented to the Rogers City Council and the Historical District Commission.
There has been determination as to whether council should be a nonprofit organization or a city committee. As a nonprofit organization, the council could apply for grants, something it couldn’t do if it were a city committee.
The idea of public art is not new. European countries have displayed art publicly — fountains, statues and other art forms — for centuries. Some cities in the United States have artists’ works in public places, such as the bull on Wall Street and the Confederate soldier on the Bentonville square.
Michael Reese, an artist who displays his work at Poor Richard’s, is on the design committee of Main Street Rogers. He said he took on the challenge of establishing an arts council.
“When we looked into displaying art on public property, we discovered there is no way legally we could do it. There has to be a policy and procedures in place. The city has to approve of the art work, as does the Rogers historical commission if the art work is on display in the downtown historic district,” Reese said.
David Swearingen, vice chairman of the Rogers Historic District Commission, said the plan for the proposed council has not been presented to the commission.
“I do know that any artwork placed in the historic district will have to be approved by us, but that may be the extent of our involvement,” Swearingen said. “I do think it’s a good idea, and I would be willing to work with an arts council.”
Fayetteville has had an arts council since 2007, and Bentonville officials are working to establish a council, Reese said. The Fayetteville Arts Council is a city government commission.
Dianne Williams, a member of the Fayetteville Arts Council, said the process seems to work well.
“We’re putting a $10,000 piece of art on the Willow Creek trail. We are also working to make the public aware of the public art work on display around town,” Williams said.
One of the best known and most talked about pieces of public art is in front of the Fayetteville Town Center, 15 W. Mountain St., Williams said.
“I call it the peace ball. It’s a ball, like the Earth, and the peace is written in a variety of languages with a water effect. We get more comments on that than any other public art display,” Williams said.
A Rogers arts council has a long way to go before public art can be placed, Reese said.
“We are just at the starting point. There are a lot of questions that still need to be answered, and other issues worked out. I plan to talk to planning commissioners (today) during the meeting. They need to be involved, as does the City Council,” Reese said.
Two calls Monday to the University of Arkansas art department asking for a comment on the value of public art were not returned by 5 p.m.