Cultural Arts
Emeryville has a rich affiliation with the cultural arts. The City, through its Art in Public Places Program, has commissioned a range of exciting art works for the public realm. A dynamic arts and music community, Emeryville is home to hundreds of artists and musicians working in traditional mediums as well as the digital, film, and sound arts. 

See the Art!

View or download a map of public art in Emeryville.  You may also view our online gallery.

510 ARTS.com 
510arts.com is a collaboration between the cities of Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and Richmond.  A calendar of arts and culture events in and around Emeryville may be viewed here.

Ordinance and Policies
In 1990, the City passed the Art in Public Places Program through a Percent for Art ordinance. The law cemented a growing practice by the City and its many corporate residents who included significant pieces of art and statements about art in their public spaces.

The ordinance requires private developers of non-residential buildings to allocate 1% of their building construction costs for on-site public art. The City must allocate 1.5% for municipal developments. In 1998, the Redevelopment Agency passed a policy requiring private developers that have executed development or participation agreements with the Agency to contribute 40% of the 1% to the Public Art Fund. The policy was amended in April 2005 to include residential and live-work developments, whereby the contribution to the Public Art Fund is set at 40% of 0.5% of development costs.

For more information, view Ordinance and Policies for Art in Public Places.

Additional Information