This is certainly a challenging issue. Here is an idea. Perhaps instead of thinking of the project as one for freestanding sculpture, an artist can design the environment itself. Some are able to work on a project like this independently, but they can also work in collaboration with engineers, landscape architects, and others.

It might be helpful for your FEMA colleagues to see examples, since they may never have thought of artists working in this way. Share examples of artist designed parks, trails, or sections projects that have things in common with your site. There are many artists whose entire body of work is focused on water, sustainability, and the related challenges. I know the list will chime in with ideas, but off the top of my head: Stacy Levy, Adam Kuby, Patricia Johanson, Lorna Jordan...forgive me for not listing more. I like to use greenmuseum.org as a launch point for searching for artists.

Another solution would be to commission works that are temporary, or long term, rather than permanent. Projects that are not meant to last beyond the floods. Will your funding source allow you to commission a number of projects over the next 20-30 years rather than one big project all at once?

On Wed, Sep 5, 2018, at 1:07 PM, Fiona Bond wrote:

This is Fiona Bond from Creative Waco. We are beginning the installation phase for a million dollar public art project beside our river in Waco, Tx. We are running up against some roadblocks from FEMA regarding placement of sculptures in the (newly revised!) 100 year floodplain. We want to be good citizens with regard to safety, engineering, and flood mitigation, but the requirements seem excessive to say the least. Is there someone in the public art world with experience of dealing successfully with this kind of issue? This issue is in danger of putting a halt to any further public art in our downtown riverside area, which would be terrible!

Specifically, I am looking for case study/best practice type info on:

· Has anyone negotiated a minimum size/weight/volume bar for requiring full FEMA permiting and flood loading. E.g. it would be better if full permitting and inspection was applied only for sculptures over a certain size, weight, volume or surface area.

· Has anyone developed risk mitigation through holding something like a city “public art damage fund” as opposed to insuring every piece for replacement value (instead insuring only for third party liability).

· Do any of your communities hold artists’ molds in a repository in case pieces need to be re-cast following damage?

Thanks so much for any advice!

Best wishes,

Fiona

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