With a rich collection of public art and a diverse creative population, Santa Monica is dedicated to the belief that art is a basic city service and is essential to our city’s continued vitality. Our extensive collection, which ranges from murals to interactive installations, fortifies the city’s cultural base and enhances the overall Santa Monica experience. The City of Santa Monica remains committed to integrating art into the daily life of our community, and invites you to enjoy the collection of public art that makes our city great.

Collection-Specific Map

Four Must-See Pieces to Visit

Art of Recovery

An Initiative of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs

Marcos Lutyens, Rose River Memorial, 2020. Photo by Lindi Koprivnikar

As part of the City of Santa Monica’s Economic Recovery Task Force, Cultural Affairs launched Art of Recovery in November 2020. This grant program harnesses the arts to play a major role in recovery efforts while highlighting Santa Monica as a place of culture and unique experiences. Inspired by the WPA-era’s Federal Art Project, this initiative puts artists to work to implement projects that strengthen and connect Santa Monica. Art of Recovery focuses on three main priorities: economic recovery, community connectedness & restorative justice, and public health & safety.

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Lives that Bind: a restorative justice installation

Curated by jill moniz, phd

Installation View, Lives that Bind, photo by Halline Overby 2020

In this new semi-permanent installation at City Hall East, the City of Santa Monica celebrates LA County artists whose visual languages sustain and enrich our community with their diverse practices. Seen together in dialogue, these artworks promote the restoration of voices that have been marginalized, and offer connections that bind generations, viewpoints, ideas and cultural histories into a new perspective on Santa Monica’s cultural landscape.

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Art Bank: Selected Works from the City of Santa Monica Art Collection

Annenberg Community Beach House

Ali Acerol, It Is, 1993, Photo by City of Santa Monica

Stop by the Annenberg Community Beach House for Art Bank: Selected Works from the City of Santa Monica Art Collection and view pieces by standout artists from Southern California and further afield. Paintings, prints, photography, and sculpture join public art project maquettes and preparatory drawings for an eclectic mixture of style and subject. The Art Bank municipal art collection was instituted in 1984 to bring art into Santa Monica’s public spaces, and is funded through the City of Santa Monica’s Percent for Art Program.

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Belmar History + Art

Historic Belmar Park

April Banks, A Resurrection in Four Stanzas, 2021. Photo by Leroy Hamilton

Belmar History + Art (BH+A) is a public art and civic commemoration project that illuminates histories of the African American residents and business owners of the historic Belmar and surrounding neighborhoods in Santa Monica. Once a thriving community, this area was razed through eminent domain in the 1950s, and residents were displaced to make way for construction of the Civic Center campus. The BH+A project incorporated elements of art, community, and history to creatively and collectively celebrate the past and future legacy of African American contributions to Santa Monica life.

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Explore Artworks from the Collection

Take a Public Art Tour

A tour of selected works on the Beach, in Downtown and the Civic Center areas, is now available. The suggested route can be accomplished by bicycle/car, or on foot in sections and predominantly visits public artworks in the City’s collection, interspersed with a few public artworks by other entities including Metro and private developers.

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