Saskatoon councillor seeks change to public art policy

Saskatoon Ward 5 Councillor Randy Donauer is calling for a revision of the city’s public art policy following the $300,000 installation of ‘Modern Erratics’. The project, created by Calgary-based artist duo Sans façon, consists of three large plastic rocks located at Diefenbaker Park, the Forestry Farm, and the city landfill.

Donauer argues that the current policy, established in 2014, requires 1 per cent of capital budgets for large projects to be set aside for art, up to a maximum of $500,000 per project. He contends that rising costs make these large expenditures more frequent and that the current cap is out of sync with municipal spending priorities. Donauer, who has previously attempted to block the project in 2014 and 2016, intends to bring forward a motion on August 12 to cancel this specific portion of the policy.