Arts Central has emerged over time as a manager of a broad array of arts and culture programs.  Perhaps the most publicly visible and most talked about program is public art.  Since 2001, Arts Central has served on the board of the long established and respected Art in Public Places. 

In 2007, Arts Central was instrumental in sheparding a 1% For Art ordinance through the City of Bend.  As the ordinance was in the process of passing, Arts Central became the manager of a new public art venture for Bend, ArtMatch.  Arts Central serves as a public art adviser to several Central Oregon communities.

The phenomenon called public art dates back only a few decades in this country.  The proliferation of percent-for-art programs in the U.S. now includes thirty states, 300 cities, and dozens of counties.  As in Bend, most of these use a simple commissioning or purchasing system, following the European tradtion of patronage.

Art creates a sense of place.  In 2005, Bend's roundabout sculptures, a project of Art in Public Places, were honored by Americans for the Arts as being among the thirty-seven most innovative approaches to Public Art in the country.  The project was cited specifically for its diversity (different projects appealing to a wide variety of tastes) and for the level of public discussion surrounding the arts that the sculptures have generated.  Bend was also recognized as an example of a small community engaged in a significant public art initiative.