Title
Approval of Call for Art for the Eastside Street Art Crossings Public Art Project
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
The General Government Committee recommends approval of the Call for Art for the Eastside Street Art Crossing.
City Manager Recommendation:
Approve the Call for Art for the Eastside Street Art Crossing.
Report
Issue:
Whether to move forward with the second of eight public art projects in the Olympia Art Crossing Project.
Staff Contact:
Stephanie Johnson, Arts Program Manager, Parks, Arts & Recreation, 360.709.2678
Presenter(s):
Stephanie Johnson, Staff Liaison, Arts Commission
Timothy Grisham, Chair, Arts Commission
Background and Analysis:
On October 24, 2017, City Council approved the public art plan Olympia Crossings: An Art Plan for City Gateways. On August 21, 2018, Council approved the first Art Crossings Call for Art for West Bay Drive.
The West Bay Drive Project is currently in fabrication, with installation planned for late June, 2020.
The second location identified in the Master Plan is Eastside Street at the I-5 bridge. Staff has worked closely with the Eastside (ENA) and Indian Creek (ICNA) Neighborhood Associations to develop this second Call for Art (or RFQ) using the same the process and format as that used on the West Bay project. Some of the key elements include:
• Initial conversation with interested Neighborhood Associations to develop the Call for Art for the Eastside Street Crossing location
• Participation by Neighborhood Association representatives on the juries
• A two-part application process with an RFQ followed by finalist interviews
• Focus on artists with a connection to Olympia, with support provided by a pre-submission workshop and technical review (with the selected artist) with the City’s on-call landscape architect.
If this Call for Art is approved, the process for selecting an artist follows:
Artist Selection Schedule
• Call for Art open
• Workshop for interested applicants
• Deadline for Entry
• Jury Process
• Arts Commission review
• Finalist interviews
• Arts Commission review
• City Council approval
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
To prepare the Call for Art for the Eastside Street project, staff met with Eastside (ENA) and Indian Creek (ICNA) Neighborhood Association leadership on August 21, 2019, followed by the ENA annual picnic on August 25 and the ICNA picnic on September 8. Input from these meetings informed the neighborhood description in the Call for Art, and neighborhood representatives were solicited for the project jury.
Options:
1. Approve the Olympia Art Crossings Call for Art.
2. Approve the Call for Art with modifications.
3. Do not approve the Call for Art.
Financial Impact:
$50,000 for artwork design and fabrication and up to $25,000 for installation from the Municipal Art Fund.
Attachments:
Call for Public Art: Eastside Street Art Crossing
Olympia Crossings: An Art Plan for City Gateways
2019 Municipal Art Plan