Foreign Experience of State and Private Support for Public Art on the Example of the USA

Abstract

The article examines the experience of direct and indirect state support for public art in the United States of America. The Russian model of culture financing differs from the Anglo-American one, but, despite completely different historical background and traditions, modern Russia seeks to be integrated into the creative economy, where the difference in approaches to cultural policy is offset by involvement in global processes. The United Nations declared 2021 the International Year of the Creative Economy for Sustainable Development. The agenda of the Government of the Russian Federation include the development of creative industries in the country. Public art is an effective method of building a city’s creative ecosystem.The goals of mass agitation and propaganda were the backbone for the alternative concept of decorating public spaces that existed in the USSR, but, despite the unique system of training artistic personnel and the achievements of Soviet art historians and artists, this approach needs to be rethought in the current cultural environment. The visual culture of urban spaces today receives additional incentives due to the needs of sustainable urban development. At the same time, the search for optimal approaches to the dialogue on this matter between the authorities, the art community, and citizens has been at the stage of self-determination in recent years.The article aims to study the features of support for public art in the United States. The article includes an overview of key American scientific publications on the topic and official materials of the National Endowment for the Arts, the “Art in Architecture” program of the General Services Administration of the US, the governments of the city departments of culture of New York, Chicago, San Jose, data from non-profit organizations and professional associations.Formulated in the conclusions of the article, the management decisions, methods and tools for the public art development, based on the American experience, can be considered as recommendations for the development of public art projects in our country.