The 1% artistic
The obligation to decorate public buildings, more commonly called «1% artistic» is a specific procedure for ordering works of art to artists. It requires public building owners to reserve 1% of the cost of their buildings when they order or purchase one or more works of art specially designed for the building in question.
Initially limited to the buildings of the Ministry of National Education when it was created in 1951, the scheme was expanded and is now imposed on most public buildings of the State and those of local authorities, within the limits of the powers transferred to them by the laws of decentralization.
In parallel with this broadening of the scope, the «1%» has opened up to all forms of expression in the field of visual arts, from the most traditional disciplines, such as painting or sculpture, to new media, video, design, graphic design, sound creation, landscape creation, etc.
Instrument of the political will to support the creation and to sensitize our fellow citizens to the art of our time, it offers for more than sixty years an original framework of action to promote the encounter between an artist, an architect and the public, outside institutions dedicated to contemporary art.
The organizationn of the procedureure
The framework and procedures for applying the “1%” are defined by the Decree no. 2002-677 of 29 April 2002, as amended by Decree 2005-90 of 4 February 2005, and consolidated as of 02 December 2012, pursuant to Article 71 of the French Procurement Code. The circular of the Minister of Culture and Communication of 16 August 2006specifies the procedure.
Each operation of «1%» is followed by an artistic committee, advisory body to the contracting authority. This committee is responsible for defining the programme of artistic commissions and for giving an opinion on proposals submitted by artists.
In accordance with the principles of the Public Procurement Code, new projects of «1%», with the exception provided for by the decree, are the subject of a call for applications from artists.
Contact DRAC Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Consultants for the plastic arts:
Mathieu BORDES - 05 55 45 66 77 - mathieu.bordes@culture.gouv.fr for departments 16, 19, 23 ,24, 79, 86, 87
Bertrand FLEURY - 05 57 95 01 67 - bertrand.fleury@culture.gouv.fr for departments 17, 33, 40, 47, 64, 79
