Most developers we work with are commissioning public art for the first time. That's not a criticism, it's the whole reason we exist. But it does mean the same handful of mistakes come up again and again. Here are the five we see most, and how to avoid them.
1. Leaving it until too late
Public art conditions are usually attached at consent, but the actual planning - briefing, budgeting, artist selection - takes weeks, sometimes months. Developers who leave it until construction is underway end up making rushed decisions, or asking their consultant to compress a process that really can't be compressed without losing quality.
Fix: Treat the Public Art Plan as part of your DA documentation from the start, not a post-consent afterthought.
2. Underestimating the budget, or overestimating it
Without a benchmark, it's easy to guess wildly in either direction. Some developers assume public art is a minor line item and are surprised by realistic artist fees. Others assume it will be enormously expensive and either avoid the conversation or over-provision unnecessarily.
Fix: Get an indicative budget early, based on the scale and typology appropriate to your site, not a generic percentage-of-project-cost rule of thumb.
3. Treating the art plan as a document, not a decision
A Public Art Plan that satisfies council on paper but doesn't actually reflect a real curatorial decision tends to create problems later, councils push back, or the eventual artwork feels disconnected from the site. The document is only useful if it reflects genuine thinking about what the art should be and why.
Fix: Use the planning stage to actually decide on artwork typology and location, not just to produce a compliant PDF.
4. Confusing strategy with delivery
This is a big one. Commissioning a Public Art Plan doesn't mean the same consultant needs to manage fabrication, installation, insurance, and artist logistics. Some developers assume it's all one service, and either overpay for a bundled offering they don't need, or get stuck when a curation-only consultant can't help with delivery.
Fix: Know what you actually need. Strategy and curation are different from project delivery, and it's fine, often better, to engage them separately.
5. Not asking who's getting paid what
Public art consulting has historically had limited fee transparency, mark-ups on artist budgets, referral arrangements that aren't disclosed, unclear boundaries between the consultant's fee and the art budget itself. Developers are often reluctant to ask, or don't know it's a reasonable question.
Fix: Ask directly. A good consultant should be able to tell you exactly what their fee is, what the artist receives, and whether they have any financial relationship with recommended suppliers or artists.
None of these mistakes are really about art, they're about not having had a reason to learn a process most people only encounter once. That's what we built August Art Consulting to solve: fixed-fee, plain-language Public Art Plans, with full transparency on where every dollar goes.
At the start of this process and want a second opinion before you commit to anything?
Get in touch today - we're happy to answer questions before you've even engaged us.
