Milw. Arts Board opens new cycle of Public Art Conservation Fund

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The Milwaukee Arts Board has announced the opening of the fourth cycle of its fund devoted to the conservation of public art in the City of Milwaukee.

The goal of the fund is to preserve that part of the city’s cultural and civic heritage embodied in its public art. The fund supports the conservation of works that are of historical, cultural and aesthetic importance to the city.

When the fund reopens in January, $5,000 will be available to conserve public art in the city.

This next round of grants will be made in increments of $1,000, with no single award greater than $5,000. Qualifying works must be fully accessible to the public.

The guidelines and application are available at http://city.milwaukee.gov/MAB. Applications will be due January 31, 2013.

In the previous funding cycle, a total of $9,000 was awarded for three conservation projects. The Wisconsin Humane Society received $2,500 to clean and wax a statue of Henry Bergh, the founder of the ASPCA.

Lake Park Friends received $2,500 for similar work on the bronze statue of Gen. Erastus B. Wolcott (1920) by Francis Herman Parker located in the park.

The third project to receive funding was Snail’s Crossing Park in Riverwest. Artist Marina Lee, working with the Riverwest Neighborhood Association and the City’s Department of Recreation and Facilities, received $4,000 to restore sections of the park that had suffered from vandalism and deterioration.