A public art project intended for Dallas’ new police training academy has faced pushback from some residents over its cost and location, but both factors are determined by city code, a city spokesperson told The Dallas Morning News.
At a public art committee meeting Jan. 6, city staffers gave an update on the art project, which has an estimated $463,200 budget and could entail a plaza.
The project was initiated in October 2024 and is in the research and development phase. The city’s public art team plans to send digital feedback surveys for the project to the community at large, police trainees and the University of North Texas at Dallas campus, where the academy is expected to be built on a 20-acre site.
City staffers have not announced a completion date for the art project. A date hinges on the police academy’s construction.
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Construction on the academy is projected to begin in late 2026 and finish in mid-2028, although the city has had to contend with a $124 million fundraising gap for the academy and a complementary public safety complex. A city spokesperson did not immediately reply to a questions about whether the construction timeline has been delayed and on the about progress of funding.
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The city has not tasked an artist with designing the art project, but staffers shared at the Jan. 6 committee meeting that they may contact a pool of candidates who have experience on projects with a similar budget and scope. Staffers did not, however, rule out an open call for artists.
During the Jan. 6 meeting, three city residents balked at the project’s $463,200 cost. Sam Williams described the amount as “life-changing money,” and suggested a reallocation of funds to Dallas artists.
The project was the most expensive among those reviewed at the meeting, although Ashley Guevara, spokesperson for the Office of Arts and Culture, said there have been others with similar or larger budgets before.
The $463,200 budget estimate is based on the city’s public art ordinance, which stipulates that up to 1.5% of a capital improvement project’s funds must be set aside to commission public art. Works “must be of a permanent nature and may be integral to the architecture or incorporated into the city capital improvement project,” the ordinance says.
In 2024, Dallas voters approved a public safety bond proposition that included $50 million for the new police academy. That bond money is why public art is being planned for there.
A percentage of the project’s budget will go to artist fees, according to Guevara, although she did not disclose that figure.
Residents at the meeting also raised concern over the art’s accessibility. Artist Nora Soto said, “A police training facility is not a public venue. Residents cannot freely and openly walk in and recreationally enjoy the space.” Guevara later told The News in an email that “the proposed art is intended to be on display for the public.”
Criticism during public comments also veered into nationwide debates on the role of police and funding for law enforcement. “I do not believe an institution such as the Dallas Police Department, whose sole purpose is to keep residents in check by using violence, should be the recipient of an art installation,” Soto said.
Dallas resident John Putnam said if the project were completed, it should be “a reminder to the trainees that they are here to serve the people and not to terrorize the people.”
As the project advances, Soto hopes to galvanize further dissent with others. “My goal is to not have this adjusted,” she told The News. “We want it to be canceled.”
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