Summary Sheet- WSS ISSUE REVIEW SUMMARY

MEMORANDUM – ISSUE REVIEW SESSION
TO:
Mayor and Council
THROUGH: Craig Hayton, Community Services Director, (480) 350-5234
FROM:
Rebecca Blume Rothman, Arts and Culture Manager, (480) 350-2827
Brenda Abney, Deputy Director, Arts and Culture, (480) 350-5655
DATE:
2/12/2026
SUBJECT:
Public Art Plan Update
AGENDA ITEM: 4C
PURPOSE:
Staff will provide an overview of the Public Art Plan process, strategies, and framework.
RECOMMENDATION OR GUIDANCE REQUESTED:
This item is for information only.
CITY COUNCIL STRATEGIC PRIORITY AND RELATED PERFORMANCE MEASURE:
3.17 Quality of Community Services Programs: Achieve ratings of “Very Satisfied” or “Satisfied” 
with the “Quality of Community Services programs” greater than or equal to the top 10% of the 
national benchmark cities as measured in the Community Survey.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Tempe’s Public Art Program aspires to cultivate a unique community identity that advances 
Tempe as a vibrant and progressive destination. As the City has grown, the Public Art Collection 
continues to expand to meet community needs. A Public Art Plan is a crucial document for this 
time of growth, documenting previous efforts and processes, as well as helping prioritize the 
creation of artworks within the built environment through a set of principles and strategies that 
can be applied to future programming.  
Since the fall of 2024, planning consultants, Designing Local, and staff have employed many 
avenues to gather the community’s thoughts on direction for the public art program. The 
community was asked to share ideas about future locations for artwork, thoughts on the types 
of artwork that best fit in Tempe, and to share their thoughts regarding the current art collection. 
The team also worked with staff and stakeholders to help identify areas where the program 
needed new strategies to create a diverse public art collection with ample access to the greater 
community in Tempe. 
The results of this outreach effort were compiled and shared publicly in the spring of 2025 as 
part of the public art framework. Using this community input, Designing Local defined key 
takeaways and developed a plan that incorporates a curatorial framework for project 
prioritization, strategies to address current program needs, and policies to guide the public art 
program into the next 10 years of growth.
The resulting Public Art Plan outlines the city’s vision for public art, identifies potential locations 
for future public art projects, provides strategies to diversify the public art collection to reach

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broader audiences, and establishes guidelines for program’s operational processes moving 
forward.
Tempe’s Public Art Program aspires to cultivate a unique community identity that advances 
Tempe as a vibrant and progressive destination. As the City has grown, the Public Art Collection 
continues to expand to meet community needs. A Public Art Plan is a crucial document for this 
time of growth, documenting previous efforts and processes, as well as helping prioritize the 
creation of artworks within the built environment through a set of principles and strategies that 
can be applied to future programming.  
Since the fall of 2024, planning consultants, Designing Local, and staff have employed many 
avenues to gather the community’s thoughts on direction for the public art program. The 
community was asked to share ideas about future locations for artwork, thoughts on the types 
of artwork that best fit in Tempe, and to share their thoughts regarding the current art collection. 
The team also worked with staff and stakeholders to help identify areas where the program 
needed new strategies to create a diverse public art collection with ample access to the greater 
community in Tempe. 
The results of this outreach effort were compiled and shared publicly in the spring of 2025 as 
part of the public art framework. Using this community input, Designing Local defined key 
takeaways and developed a plan that incorporates a curatorial framework for project 
prioritization, strategies to address current program needs, and policies to guide the public art 
program into the next 10 years of growth.
The resulting Public Art Plan outlines the city’s vision for public art, identifies potential locations 
for future public art projects, provides strategies to diversify the public art collection to reach 
broader audiences, and establishes guidelines for program’s operational processes moving 
forward.
TIMELINE :
The planning process began in September of 2024 and since that time, Designing Local, Ltd., 
along with the internal project team has focused on key steps, including familiarization with 
Tempe through a full review of Arts & Culture Public Arts assets; the creation, launch and 
completion of a public survey; public outreach for input through focus groups, pop-up events, 
and Board and Commission meetings; and reviews with key city staff. The following table 
provides an overview of the planning process.
DATE
ACTION TAKEN
September 2024
Discover Tempe visit, review of Arts and 
Culture assets, meetings with City Staff and 
key stakeholders
October 2024
Launch of survey for public input, review of 
internal processes and procedures
November 2024-January 2025
In person engagement at community events, 
pop ups, focus group meetings, and 
stakeholder interviews

3
February- April 2025
Foundational Plan Framework: Community 
engagement analysis, sharing of engagement 
report and final outreach for plan input
Summer 2025
Creation of final recommendations and review
Fall 2025
Final Plan Completion and presentation of 
Public Art Plan to the Tempe Arts and Culture 
Commission
December 2025
Final Plan Completion and approval by Tempe 
Arts and Culture Commission
FISCAL IMPACT or IMPACT TO CURRENT RESOURCES:
N/A
ATTACHMENTS:
1. 20260212_WSS_4C_PRESENTATION.PDF
2. TEMPE PUBLIC ART PLAN FINAL.PDF