Public Art Budget Calculator

Percent-for-art calculation from construction project budget.

Construction budget ($)

Percent for art

Artist selection cost ($)

Site preparation ($)

Installation costs

Contingency

Maintenance endowment

Project management

Tab to move between fields

Total art allocation

$50,000.00

≈ 5 years of state college

Artist design & fabrication$13,700.00

Estimated artist fee$2,740.00

Fabrication budget$10,960.00

Installation cost$6,150.00

Maintenance endowment$2,050.00

Project management$4,000.00

Contingency reserve$4,100.00

Art Per Dollar Construction1

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Construction budget ($), Percent for art, and Artist selection cost ($).
Set Site preparation ($), Installation costs, and Contingency.
Adjust Maintenance endowment, Project management as needed.
Review the Total art allocation ($) result.
Use Artist design & fabrication ($) and Estimated artist fee ($) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Construction budget ($)

Construction budget ($): Total eligible construction or capital improvement project budget.
Percent for art: Local ordinance percentage (typically 1-2% of eligible construction costs).
Artist selection cost ($): Cost of selection panel, artist travel, and competition honoraria.
Site preparation ($): Foundation, electrical, plumbing, and landscape modifications for artwork.
Installation costs: Percentage of art budget for transportation, rigging, and installation.
Contingency: Budget reserve for unforeseen costs during fabrication and installation.
Maintenance endowment: Set-aside for long-term artwork maintenance (many programs require 5-10%).
Project management: Public art program administration and project management costs.

Total art allocation: Total funds generated by the percent-for-art ordinance.
Artist design & fabrication: Budget available for artist fee plus artwork fabrication.
Estimated artist fee: Artist compensation (typically 15-20% of design/fabrication budget).
Fabrication budget: Available for materials, studio costs, and fabrication labor.
Installation cost: Transportation, rigging, crane, and installation labor.
Maintenance endowment: Funds set aside for ongoing artwork care and conservation.
Project management: Program administration and management fees.
Contingency reserve: Budget reserve for unforeseen costs.

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Construction budget ($) = 5000000, Percent for art = 1, Artist selection cost ($) = 5000, Site preparation ($) = 15000 = 8 input(s) provided
Calculate Total art allocation
Total art allocation = constructionBudget * (percentForArt / 100)
50000 = $50,000
Calculate Artist design & fabrication
Artist design & fabrication = Math
13700 = $13,700
Calculate Estimated artist fee
Estimated artist fee
2740 = $2,740