Increasingly, developers are engaging artists to integrate art and culture into real estate projects. Why? These collaborations have shown that artists can help transform spaces from merely functional to culturally vibrant—while also delivering significant social and economic benefits.
Engaging artists in real estate development can be tricky, however. Artists and developers often speak different “languages,” but both must be understood and respected, and any gap between them must be bridged. With support from former ULI Global Governing Trustee Michael Spies, ULI’s Art in Place project identified the following best practices for effective artist/developer collaboration by drawing on focus groups, interviews, and other sources.
1. Build the business case for artist engagement.
Engaging artists delivers measurable returns—faster lease-ups, lower turnover, and stronger community buy-in—that keep projects on time and on budget. At Monroe Street Market, a $350 million transit-oriented development in Washington, D.C., 27 ground-floor artist studios boosted revenues for developers and local businesses, as well as enhanced cultural vibrancy.
2. Be expansive about the role artists can play.
Artists can contribute more than murals or sculptures—they can shape site design, wayfinding, landscaping, and lighting, thus creating places where people linger and businesses thrive. They also activate projects through events and innovative spaces such as live/work studios and maker hubs. In Miami Beach, The ReefLine—an artist-designed underwater sculpture—delights visitors and restores dying coral.
3. Engage artists early and often for maximum impact.
Artists have the greatest impact on project success when they are engaged from the start and throughout the development process. They contribute to visioning, design, and community engagement, which can build trust with the community and advance developer goals. An artist/architect team guided San Antonio’s Pavilions at the Confluence Park project from concept to completion, creating a beloved community space that also captures and recycles rainwater.
4. Build bridges through a common language.
A shared language between artists and developers ensures mutual understanding of creative processes and timelines, gives artists time to produce high-quality work, and helps developers meet goals. At Park Towne Place Museum District Residences in Philadelphia, Aimco/AIR Communities and nonprofit art consultancy InLiquid aligned roles and goals to create residencies, exhibitions, a sculpture park, and public events that enrich the lives of denizens and of people in the wider community.
5. Leverage Intermediaries.
Specialized intermediaries connect developers with “best-fit” artists, ensure fair compensation, and manage implementation, reducing risk. At Denver’s Dairy Block, a pedestrian alley and the adjacent Maven Hotel were transformed into a vibrant, culturally resonant destination by collaborating partners including art consultancy NINE dot ARTS, local artists such as George Peters and Melanie Walker of Artwork Studios, and project developer McWhinney.
6. Use a competitive selection process.
Transparent, locally rooted selection—sometimes guided by intermediaries—builds stronger outcomes and community trust. Barangaroo South, a major Sydney development by Lendlease and the New South Wales government, integrates public art through a competitive framework, with an art advisory panel selecting
artists who reflect local heritage and uplift Indigenous voices.
7. Invest in training to ensure project readiness.
Education helps artists and developers collaborate successfully by building shared understanding and showing the return on investment of funding creativity. At Memphis’ Crosstown Concourse, project leaders launched Crosstown Arts to train teams, engage the community, and cultivate the creative ecosystem, contributing to 98 percent occupancy when the 1.2 million square foot (111,500 sq m) adaptive reuse project opened in 2017.
Artist engagement on real estate development projects is not a cost—it’s a catalyst. It drives ROI, strengthens community trust, and creates places that are both profitable and meaningful. Research has shown that applying best practices in artist/developer collaborations optimizes these outcomes. A comprensive ULI report on this topic will be published this fall.
