During the dozen years of Michael Bloomberg’s mayoralty, he became well known for at least one public-private paradox: he wasn’t particularly fond of the arts, but his administration did more than any in a generation to support them in city life. Now Mr. Bloomberg’s charitable organization, Bloomberg Philanthropies, is preparing to spend millions to jump-start temporary public art projects in other cities.
On Monday, the organization announced a program, “Public Art Challenge,” that will give at least three cities up to a million dollars each over two years to develop art projects that “celebrate creativity, enhance urban identity, encourage public-private partnerships and drive economic development.” The money will be available to any city in the United States or its territories with more than 30,000 residents and is intended to serve as a catalyst to draw broad support to projects, not to pay for them entirely.
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