Title
A Story Place Donation
Recommended Action
Move to recommend A Story Place, by Nancy Thorne Chambers to the City Manager as a donation to the City Public Art Collection.
Report
Issue:
To review the Gift of Art Proposal using the criteria included in the Gift of Art Policy (attached.) and determine whether to recommend donation of A Story Place to the City Manager for inclusion in the City's Public Art Collection. Per the Gift Policy: "If the gift will have substantial community impact, the City Manager, at his discretion, may forward the proposed gift to the Olympia City Council for review and approval."
Staff Contact:
Stephanie Johnson, Arts Program Manager, Parks, Arts & Recreation, 360.709.2678
Presenter(s):
N/A
Background and Analysis:
In January of 2021, artist Nancy Thorne Chambers delivered a proposal of A Story Place to the Arts Commission for consideration as a gift of art (see attached). A Story Place is a tableau of an assortment of ceramic animals arranged in a circle listening to the reading of a story by a young girl. The artist has been casting the sculptures in a limited-edition bronze series, and the City currently owns two sculptures through the Percival Plinth Project. The original gift proposal provided five sculptures to add to the two the City currently owns to create a small tableau.
The proposal also came with the proposal that the sculpture be installed in the open gathering area or play area by the Percival Landing boardwalk in downtown Olympia. While the artist's intent was to have the sculpture sited in an area with a lot of children nearby, she also notes that adjacency to salt water is hard on the surface patina. Following discussion with the artist and City Parks staff, and a tour of several possible locations, the artist has both changed their location proposal and added two additional sculptures to the proposal.
The amended proposal (see attachments) includes the sculptures, Rabbit Bear, Toad, Fox, Fawn and Skunk, ...
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