Title
West Bay Art Crossing Public Art Concept Plan
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
The Arts Commission recommends Council approval of the West Bay Art Crossing concept plan.
City Manager Recommendation:
Move to approve the West Bay Art Crossing Public Art concept plan as recommended by the Arts Commission.
Report
Issue:
Whether to approve the West Bay Art Crossing Public Art concept plan. If approved, the final concept will return to the Arts Commission on August 8 for refining of structural details. When those details are finalized, the project artists will move into fabrication. Installation and project completion is projected for spring of 2020.
Staff Contact:
Stephanie Johnson, Arts Program Manager, Parks, Arts & Recreation, 360.709.2678
Presenter(s):
Stephanie Johnson, Parks, Arts & Recreation
Lin McJunkin and Milo White, West Bay Crossing Project Public Artists
Background and Analysis:
On January 22, 2019, City Council approved the Arts Commission’s recommendation of Lin McJunkin and Milo White as public artists for the West Bay Art Crossings Project. The five-member jury that formed the recommendation included a member of the Planning Commission and the Northwest Neighborhood Association (NWONA) in addition to two Arts Commissioners and the City’s on-call Landscape Architect.
On March 21, the artists participated in a half-day familiarization tour, meeting with the City’s Historic Preservation Officer and Transportation Engineer, to better understand the site. That evening, they met with members of the NW neighborhoods - NWONA, West Bay Drive and Burbank/Elliot were specifically invited - and others in attendance, to better understand the community around the site.
On May 9, the Arts Commission conducted a public hearing to receive and collect feedback from the public regarding the West Bay Art Crossing Concept Plan. At this public hearing, project artists Lin McJunkin and Milo White recapped their feedback from the neighborhood meeting on March 21. Their concept for the West Bay site consists of two figural forms of a heron and salmon, constructed of stainless steel and tempered glass that flank the road.
Following the Arts Commission review,
- staff shared the artists’ concept plan in a presentation to the Planning Commission on June 3
- staff planned to share the artists’ concept plan in a presentation to the Heritage Commission agenda for June 26, but the meeting was cancelled due to lack of a quorum
- staff shared the artists’ concept plan with NWONA leadership committee on July 1
- in addition, staff has discussed the artwork with regards to permitting and transportation engineering with the appropriate City staff
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
NWONA has been very involved in this project, from the Master Plan stage. Two of the three community meetings for this project were held at Garfield Elementary School.
Options:
1. Approve the West Bay Art Crossing Public Art concept plan as presented
2. Receive the concept plan presentation and provide feedback to the Arts Commission
3. Do not approve the concept plan
Financial Impact:
Budget for the artwork is $50,000 from the Municipal Art Fund
Attachments:
None. The project artists will share a presentation during the meeting.