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Savannah updates public art master plan process; consultants to deliver draft later this year
Summary
City staff and consultants reported community engagement for the first-ever Savannah Public Art Master Plan is wrapping up; a draft plan and implementation recommendations are expected in late summer or early fall after consultants synthesize resident input.
Savannah officials told council on March 13 that the city’s first public art master plan — funded with $60,000 in seed capital — is moving from community outreach to plan synthesis, with a draft expected for council consideration in the third quarter of 2025.
Stuart Miller, director of cultural resources and project manager for the plan, said the city contracted Designing Local (a Columbus, Ohio firm) with local partners Ethos Preservation and W Projects to lead engagement. The consultants began fact-finding and community meetings in November and have collected more than 425 survey responses and a series of virtual and in-person district meetings.
“The plan will provide Savannah a unique plan that evokes the sense of place of our city,” Miller said, describing a process built around resident input, a master inventory of existing public art and recommendations for funding, management and maintenance procedures. Councilors noted the engagement has been energetic and encouraged the consultants to coordinate with municipal archives and other local history stakeholders to reflect Savannah’s cultural heritage.
Miller said consultants had visited existing public-art sites including the Victory Shopping Center, Market Arena and W.W. Law Park and looked at potential corridors such as the Waters Avenue corridor and the Tide-to-Town trail. The steering committee guiding the work includes city staff, local artists and residents from multiple districts; the project team also reported stakeholder interviews with SCAD, Telfair Museum and other arts organizations.
Staff asked council members to promote the still-open public survey (savannahpublicart.com) and stressed the plan aims to be resident-driven, linking site suggestions and themes from community meetings to recommended funding and management strategies.
Ending: Staff said the consultants will draft recommendations this summer and return with a report for council review and potential adoption later in 2025; city seed funding is being held in a capital improvements account to support near-term “quick victories” once the plan is adopted.
