public art

Walking along the bridges outside Michigan Stadium, visitors will soon pass under shimmery aluminum tiled banners of trees blowing with the wind. They also will notice shadows of branches on the sidewalks produced from nearby glass panels etched with pictures. Heading down under the overpass, the concrete walls will be lined with stone slabs with carved images of trees, lit by LEDs.

A public art tax may be on the ballot in Ann Arbor this November. The millage would replace the city's current system of funding art installations.

Right now the city has something called the "Percent for Art" program. It sets aside one percent of the budget on capital projects for art installations.  But here's the thing: that art has to be directly linked to whatever project funded it. For example, a $750,000 water sculpture in front of city hall, paid for with storm water utilities.