[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Mansfield as
indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 2-25-2008]
A.
The Council requested that the Arts Advisory Committee develop
a policy concerning local art displays in and upon the grounds of municipal
buildings (exclusive of school buildings) for review and approval by the Council.
In doing so, the Arts Advisory Committee was to consult with and solicit comment
from various advisory committees, staff and other interested members of the
community.
B.
This policy applies to Mansfield Town buildings other than the
Mansfield Community Center and schools. No Town building may be made available
for use as a public forum for the display of art until an express determination
of such designation is made by the Town Manager. Artists interested in exhibiting
their work in Town buildings (other than schools) are invited to discuss options
with the Mansfield Arts Advisory Committee. Applications to exhibit in such
a building must be approved by a Committee, which shall be the Arts Advisory
Committee unless otherwise designated by the Town Manager.
A.
Exhibits shall not be approved until all the works proposed for
exhibit (or photos thereof) have been viewed by the Committee.
B.
The Committee may give preference to exhibits by Mansfield residents,
or to exhibits of special interest to users of the facility (e.g., work by
seniors at the Senior Center, book illustrations at the Mansfield Library).
C.
Applications may be rejected if, in the judgment of the Committee,
the work falls short in terms of originality, design, or execution. The Committee
shall judge applications and approve or disapprove each application by a majority
vote of the Committee members present, on the basis of these guidelines, after
consulting with building staff.
D.
Applications shall be rejected if, in the judgment of the Committee,
the work is unsuitable for the venue. Exhibits suitable for an art gallery
may be inappropriate in Town buildings to which people come on other business.
Such works include graphic depictions of sexuality or violence, and those
that appear designed to ridicule deeply held beliefs or to disparage others
for their race, gender or sexual identity, ethnicity, nationality, etc.
E.
Should an application to exhibit be rejected, the Committee shall
explain why, in writing, to the applicant and inform the applicant that he
or she may appeal the disapproval within 10 days to the Town Manager, whose
decision shall be final.
F.
Should an application to exhibit be approved, the Committee shall
negotiate with the applicant the display area and the start and end dates
of the exhibit and shall arrange for its installation.
G.
Exhibiting artists assume responsibility for loss or damage and
must sign a waiver to that effect before installation.
H.
The artist is expected to remove his or her work at the end of
the agreed-upon exhibit period. Should he or she fail to do so, the Committee
may remove the work. In this case, the Committee shall take reasonable steps
to reunite artist and work but assumes no responsibility for loss or damage.
I.
Courts have ruled that art accepted by a public agency for public
display is a form of expression protected by the Constitution. Accordingly,
no work approved by the Committee shall be removed for reasons related to
its expressive character before the artist has been given a reasonable opportunity
for a hearing before the Town Manager, whose decision shall be final. Work
may be removed as necessary for unrelated reasons, such as building maintenance.
J.
With the approval of the Committee, the artist may remove work
before the end of the display period or substitute other works for those displayed.
Before approving any substitution, the Committee shall view the new work (or
photo thereof).
K.
The public is invited to comment to the Committee on exhibits.
Comments related to works may be shared with the artist. The Committee shall
respond to signed, written comments relating to policy with an invitation
to the author(s) to appear before the Committee and elaborate. The Committee
shall then consider the issue and report the result of its deliberations in
writing to the author(s).
[Adopted 2-25-2008]
To recognize local artistic endeavor and to enrich the lives of community
members, the Arts Advisory Committee (AAC) invites local artists to apply
to exhibit their works at the Mansfield Community Center (MCC). An application
form is available at the MCC reception desk. Applications may be left at the
desk or be sent to AAC, care of MCC, 10 South Eagleville Road, Mansfield,
CT 06268. Note that:
A.
Exhibitions will generally run for three months (e.g., January
15 to April 15).
B.
Exhibiting artists assume responsibility for loss or damage and
must sign a waiver to that effect.
C.
The MCC will not handle sales of displayed art, and prices may
not be posted.
D.
Exhibiting artists may prepare a letter-size sheet with information
about their works, including how purchases can be arranged, for posting during
the exhibit.
A.
The AAC shall consider any application to exhibit art at the
MCC or upon its grounds. An application consists of a completed application
form and photos (or samples) of the type of works proposed for display.
B.
The AAC shall judge applications, and approve or disapprove them
by a majority vote of the AAC members present, on the basis of the guidelines
below, after consulting with MCC staff. However, Mansfield artists shall be
given priority.
C.
An application that does not include photos of all the works
to be displayed may be approved provisionally. However, final approval shall
not be given before all the works or photos thereof have been viewed by the
AAC.
D.
If an application to exhibit is disapproved, the AAC shall explain
why , in writing, to the applicant, and inform the applicant that he or she
may appeal the disapproval within 10 days to the Town Manager, whose decision
shall be final.
E.
If an application to exhibit is approved, the AAC shall negotiate
the display area and period with the applicant and arrange for the exhibit's
installation.
Applications to exhibit will be judged by the AAC on the basis of originality,
artistic quality, and suitability for a family setting. While it is difficult
to be very precise about these notions, the following considerations and examples
are intended to suggest their meaning and scope, as employed by the AAC.
A.
Originality. A work need not be something new under the sun (few
works of art can claim as much), but the artist's contribution to design and
execution should be substantial. Paint-by-numbers paintings or fabrics woven
according to someone else's pattern would not qualify as original in this
sense. Jewelry merely assembled from ready-made materials (beads, settings,
stones, etc.) is less original in this sense than jewelry in which these elements
are designed and made by the artist.
B.
Artistic quality. The AAC takes a liberal view of artistic quality,
but it may reject work that, in its judgment, falls short of acceptability
for this reason. Poor draftsmanship, badly composed or printed photographs,
muddy water color, and the like, can put works into this category. Commercial
crafts, though original and well-executed, may nonetheless lack the expressive
and aesthetic qualities associated with art, and for this reason be judged
wanting in terms of artistic quality. Different standards of artistic quality
may be appropriate for special exhibits (for example, of children's art).
C.
Suitability for a family setting. Works will not be accepted
for display if the AAC judges that they are very likely to upset children
or would likely trigger a warning that some viewers may find them offensive
were they to be exhibited in an art museum. These include:
(1)
Graphic depictions of sexuality or violence.
(2)
Works that appear designed to ridicule deeply held beliefs or
to disparage others for their race, gender or sexual identity, ethnicity ,
nationality, etc. Since works of art are generally open to interpretation,
it may be difficult to determine whether a work belongs in this category.
Nonetheless, the AAC may reject works that it considers offensive for this
reason.
A.
The artist is expected to remove his or her work at the end of
the agreed-upon display period. Should the artist fail to do so, the AAC may
remove the work. In such a case, the AAC shall take reasonable steps to reunite
artist and work but assumes no responsibility for loss or damage. The MCC
does not have facilities for storing art.
B.
Courts have ruled that works of art accepted by a public agency
for public display are forms of expression protected from censure by the Constitution.
Accordingly, no work accepted for display shall be removed from the display
for reasons related to its expressive character before the artist has a reasonable
opportunity for a hearing before the Town Manager, whose decision shall be
final. Works may, of course, be removed for other reasons, such as repainting
walls.
C.
With the approval of the AAC and proper notice to the MCC staff,
the artist may remove his or her works before the end of the display period
or substitute other works for those displayed. The AAC shall view the new
work or a photo thereof before approving a substitution.
Comment cards are available at the MCC reception desk for those who
wish to comment on works displayed or on display policy.
A.
Comments relating to works may be shared with the artist.
B.
The AAC shall respond to signed written comments relating to
policy with an invitation to their author(s) to appear before the AAC and
elaborate. The AAC shall then consider the issue and report the result of
its deliberations in writing to the author(s).
