Omaha arts organization LALA studies arts funding to ensure local artists thrive as their city expands.
Header image: Search by Jun Kaneko Studio and Derix Glasstudios/ Derix U.S. installed in Omaha.
As Omaha, Nebraska prepares for 15 to 20 years of significant development, Local Artists. Local Art. (LALA), a group of artist-activists, is working to ensure the city remains affordable and supportive of creative talent. Having witnessed what happened to artists in rapidly developing cities like San Francisco and Seattle, LALA is advocating for arts inclusion in new funding policies and comprehensive planning from the start.
In 2024, I partnered with LALA to research and draft sustainable, equitable funding pathways for public art and local artists within existing municipal structures. The research explored three mechanisms—percent-for-art programs, Tax Increment Financing (TIF), and lodging taxes—each offering unique opportunities to strengthen Omaha's cultural infrastructure.
Learning from Peer Cities
The research began with comparative analysis, examining how similar municipalities have successfully integrated arts funding into their civic operations. Reviewing the art program for Kansas City, Missouri provided valuable insights into balancing local artist opportunities with larger-scale projects, while the percent-for-art framework of New Orleans demonstrated an effective model for prioritizing local talent. Richmond, California's comprehensive approach, which includes maintenance fees within their percent-for-art allocation, offered a particularly instructive model for long-term sustainability.
Council Bluffs, Iowa, presented an interesting case study in historical context. Their two-decade-old public art master plan, while dated in some respects, revealed both the longevity and evolution challenges that Omaha might anticipate. These peer city connections underscored a crucial insight: successful arts funding isn't just about securing money—it's about building administrative capacity and community engagement infrastructure.
Three Pathways Forward
The research culminated in draft ordinances addressing two primary funding mechanisms. The percent-for-art ordinance proposes allocating 1.5% of eligible city construction projects exceeding $1 million to a dedicated Public Art Fund, with 75% annually reserved for local artists. This approach addresses several priorities identified by LALA as essential for long-term artist support:
- creating predictable funding through capital improvement projects;
- ensuring community benefits remain local; and
- allowing non-local engagement to fill capacity gaps and foster connections with other arts communities.
The TIF public art ordinance mirrors this structure but focuses on community redevelopment areas, recognizing that neighborhood revitalization efforts should include cultural vitality as a core component. By dedicating 1.5% of TIF funds to public art, the ordinance links economic development directly to cultural investment.
Lodging tax exploration revealed that while Omaha already collects these revenues, current allocations don't include arts funding. This represents an advocacy opportunity rather than a policy creation challenge. Research from King County, Washington, Austin, Texas, and Ingham County, Michigan demonstrated how lodging taxes effectively support arts organizations as tourism drivers—a compelling argument for reallocating or expanding these funds to include cultural programming.
Looking Ahead
While Omaha still may have a way to go before implementing these policies, there is already significant backing from the community through groups like LALA and from within the municipal planning agency, which included an Arts, Culture, and Preservation element in the current comprehensive planning process. The comp plan, slated for completion in 2027, will lay out the city's vision for the next 20 years and outline preferred directions and actions in several key areas like health, mobility, and housing. With this level of commitment, the future is bright for Omaha's creative community.
About this week's guest author:
Patricia Walsh is the Founder and CEO of PAW Arts, a public art consultancy serving clients from Northwest Arkansas to Abu Dhabi. With over 20 years of experience, she specializes in collection management policies, municipal ordinances, program evaluation, and strategic guidance for public art field development. Prior to founding PAW Arts, Patricia spent nine years at Americans for the Arts where she facilitated the 1,000+ members of the Public Art Network, curated national public art conferences, researched over 700 public art programs, and developed industry-shaping educational resources. Her career foundation includes municipal roles in San José and Las Vegas, managing collections, public art master plans, and community engagement.
Patricia holds an MS in Arts Administration from Boston University and a BA in Studio Art from SUNY Plattsburgh. She serves on the boards of the American Planning Association's Arts & Planning Division and Arts Mid-Hudson. She is based in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Have a story to share about public art? We'd love to hear from you - reach out to editor@codaworx.com with your thoughts.
