In Minneapolis, the road to bronze immortality runs straight through City Hall.
City public works staff approve permits for private memorials or tributes installed on public land — such as bronze likenesses of actress Mary Tyler Moore and columnist Sid Hartman — with input from an arts commission. But an effort is underway to give the City Council responsibility for what people or events should get a monument on public property.
"We have the policies whereby we decide whether to accept a gift or [approve] a permit," said Mary Altman, the city's public arts administrator. "But we don't have policies that talk about who decides who gets memorialized or what is memorialized."
The city Arts Commission's Public Art Advisory Panel drafted a policy presented to a city planning panel Thursday night. Altman said she will soon show it to several department heads and council members.
In addition to giving the council "responsibility for determining whether persons or events are deemed significant enough to merit a memorial or tribute," the policy also requires them to seek input from appropriate city commissions and boards. Here is a sampling of the judgment criteria:
• "Has the person(s) or event made a substantial historical, social, cultural or economic impact upon the city, state, country or cultural community within the city? Do they represent the city's highest ideals?"
• "Will the memorial or tribute have timeless qualities and make a statement of significance to future generations?"
• "Is the memorial or tribute consistent with the city's Preservation Plan and other plans?"
