HomeMy WebLinkAboutPAAC Agenda Packet 5-6-21Public Art Advisory Committee
Thursday, May 6, 2021
*****3:30 PM*****
Note new time
Electronic Meeting
ZOOM MEETING PLATFORM
AGENDA
3:30 PM - Call to order
3:30 PM - Introductions of members and public attending the meeting.
3:32 PM - Public discussion of any item not on the agenda
3:34 PM - Consideration of minutes of the April 15, 2021 meeting
Electronic Meeting
(Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8)
An electronic meeting is being held because a meeting in person is impossible or
impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of Commission members, staff and
the public presented by COVID-19.
You can participate in the meeting and can comment on an agenda item by going to
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3:38 PM - Updates
• Pheasant Hill Park – mosaic removal
• Kiwanis Park Community Garden Art Project
• Poetry in Public Review
3:40 PM - Longfellow Pedestrian Tunnel – proposal presentation by SE Junior
High students -15 minutes
3:55 PM - Oracles of Iowa City – John Englebrecht and other project members
will be present to review survey and public forum results
4:20 PM - Public Art Matching Funds – review revised rubrics that includes
evaluating projects/applicants that have received multiple grants and criteria for
how well the project meets the Public Art Strategic Plan goals.
4:30 PM – Reallocation of Matching Funds – Fannie Hungerford, the applicant for
"The Topography of in Between" is not able to complete the project. Funding
should be reallocated to another project. Spreadsheet included in agenda
packet.
4:40 PM - Rotating Sculpture Pad Call to Artists – review and timeline
4:55 PM - Committee announcements or Committee reports
Staff Reports
5:00 PM - Adjournment
To be scheduled:
• Discuss categories mentioned in the minutes (“under/over 18,” “established,”
“emerging,” and “official” artists) in order for the Committee to have a cohesive
understanding of what these terms mean.
• Discuss Artists Registry
If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate in this program/event, please
contact Marcia Bollinger, Neighborhood and Development Services at 319-356-5237 or marcia-
bollinger@iowa-city.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your
access needs.
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Minutes Preliminary
Public Art Advisory Committee
April 15, 2021 3:30 PM
Zoom Meeting Platform
Members Present: Eddie Boyken, Dominic Dongilli, Ron Knoche, Steve Miller, Nancy
Purington, Andrea Truitt
Members Absent: Jan Finlayson, Juli Seydell-Johnson, Sandy Steil
Staff Present: Marcia Bollinger, Wendy Ford
Public Present: Leslie Revaux
Call to Order
Miller called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.
Introduction of Members and Public Attending the Meeting
Leslie Revaux, a member of the public, introduced herself and said she works for the Vice
President for Research at the University of Iowa, which is part of the group that helped fund the
Oracle’s Project.
Public Discussion of Any Item Not on the Agenda
None.
Consideration of Minutes of the March 4, 2021 Meeting
No discussion.
Motion: Knoche moved to accept the minutes. Dongilli seconded. Approved
unanimously.
Updates
Longfellow Pedestrian Tunnel Mural – to be reviewed on May 6
Bollinger said that she has been in contact with Rachel Arnone, the art teacher, and they are
planning on creating the mural the week of May 24th. She said they will present their proposal at
the PAAC meeting on May 6th.
Knoche asked if Parks & Rec will do the base coat on the Longfellow Tunnel before the school
paints it. Bollinger said that they usually do, but they will have to wait until it gets closer to the
painting scheduled time due to problems with spring moisture.
Oracles of Iowa City Public Forum Update – PS1 to be available May 6
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Bollinger said that Public Space One and possibly the artist and other team members will be at
the May 6th meeting to talk through what kind of public input they have received.
Miller asked about the general reception of the Oracles Project at the forum. Bollinger said there
wasn’t many verbal conversations or strong feelings, but she thinks there were good questions
that came up. Ford said that the forum was very quiet and non-interactive; she said it was very
well moderated but there was not a community conversation that was had. Miller asked what the
next steps of the project are. Bollinger said that they are trying to get more forums planned,
specifically to get input from the Black population.
Public Outreach and Community Arts Subcommittees – no progress
Bollinger said that she has not had a chance to work on things just yet, but she is hoping to
reconvene the subcommittees in a couple of weeks.
Temporary Art Locations – requested locations of staff
Bollinger said that she is requesting locations of Staff so that they could provide reasonable
venues for artwork within their facility, grounds, etc. She said that they will verify and post those
as soon as they all come in.
Lucas Farms Neighborhood Art – Neighborhood Survey developed
Bollinger said that she is working with Lucas Farms to create a survey to distribute to the
neighborhood in order to solicit feedback on what they want their Neighborhood Art Project to
be. She said that they might also do a community/neighborhood forum if they do not get enough
information through the survey.
Artists Registry
Bollinger said that the Artists Registry has slowed down significantly from what it was, but they
are still receiving applicants. She said that they will probably have to push it out on social media
every 2-3 months to encourage people to continue to sign up, but it has been very popular
overall. She said that they are still trying to catch up on posting all of the artists’ imag es onto the
searchable page.
Review of Matching Fund Applications
Ford showed the application requests with the total average scores from the rubric submitted by
the Committee members. Bollinger said that the mural was approved for the Trumpet Blossom
project and the Music by the Gross project could occur on private property, although they might
require a permit.
Bollinger said that many of the applicants were being very flexible with deferring their project
funding until the next round of applications after June.
Knoche asked why they would fund projects that fall outside of the guidelines. Bollinger said that
there were only two projects that fell outside the guidelines, and it was very reasonable to just
ask them to wait until the next round of funding. Truitt asked if there was a way to approve the
project(s) now and guarantee those funds for the next fiscal year. Bollinger said that the
Committee hasn’t decided how much to allocate for FY22 yet, so they can’t say which projects
will be approved in the future. Knoche said that he would be wary of allocating all of next year’s
funds and not leaving enough money for potential new projects.
Motion: Dongilli moved to remove the “Day of the Dead Ofrenda” project and the
“PracticexPractice” project from Committee consideration at this point in time since they
fall outside of the guidelines. Knoche seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
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Motion: Knoche moved to remove the “Resounding” project from Committee
consideration because it builds upon a project that they have already funded. Dongilli
seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
Truitt said that she feels like there should be a policy in place that limits the amount of funding
artists who continually apply can receive throughout a calendar year. Purington agreed. Miller
asked how that would apply to organizations that include different artists, like Public Space 1.
Bollinger recommended that they put it on the agenda for the next meeting and reevaluate the
criteria before they put out the next call for artists. Miller said that he would also like to talk about
adding a category for adherence to their strategic plan on the rubric. Truitt said that she was
more than happy to incorporate those comments/changes before their next meeting.
Bollinger said that the artists for the “Honoring Black Lives” project and the “1st Avenue Mini Mall
Bicycle” project also said that they would defer.
Motion: Dongilli moved to reject the applications for the “Topophilia” and “Mammal Hall”
projects based on their lowest rubric scores. Truitt seconded. Motion passed
unanimously.
Motion: Knoche moved to reduce the 3 lowest-scored projects by $183.33. Truitt
seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion: Knoche moved to approve amounts listed for the Public Art Matching Funds.
Purington seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
Miller asked how the Committee felt about the ranking process. Truitt said that she went back
and forth with her scoring regarding the impact of the Matching Funds for projects that have a
various number of funding partners.
Review of Kiwanis Park Community Garden Art Project Submissions and Approval of
Artist Selected by Neighborhood Residents
Bollinger said that this project is heavily influenced by the neighborhood response to the
artwork. She said that the neighborhood ranked the artists according to the criteria developed
for the neighborhood art project, and they ranked Anna Kahn the highest for her capabilities to
implement the program, work with the neighbors, work with different art materials, etc. Bollinger
said she has spoken with Kahn about getting together with the neighbors for a meet and greet
and to start talking through some concepts and logistical details for the project. She said the
meet and greet will be Saturday, May 1st at 6:00pm at the park.
Motion: Purington moved to approve Anna Kahn’s proposal. Truitt seconded. Motion
passed unanimously.
Determine Locations for 2 Rotating Sculpture Pads
Ford showed photos of each of the potential locations presented at the last meeting. Truitt said
she went out a few weeks ago to see the locations, and she really likes location #2 for its
convergence with the paths as well as its own individual space. Purington agreed with Truitt and
asked why they didn’t look at a corner location closer to the main streets. Bollinger said that she
wasn’t sure what the topography was in that area. Knoche said that there might be a visibility
issue in that area due to prairie grass restoration. Purington asked if they owned the property
4
north of that location and asked if that could be another potential location. Knoche said that they
own the property, but it is a future Public Works and Transit Facility site. Purington said there
was a lot of visual stimuli (trees, bushes, etc.) in the other locations, so she is attracted to a
place that would provide a greater presentation for the artwork. Knoche said he would prefer not
to look at the lot to the north due to the future projects scheduled there, and the Terry Trueblood
Recreation sign is on the corner with the prairie grass restoration, which might conflict with
artwork if it was placed there. Bollinger said there isn’t a lot of pedestrian movement at Terry
Trueblood. Purington said that corner would be a great location due to the stoplight that was just
installed at that intersection. Truitt said that she probably wouldn’t walk out to the sculpture if it
was placed on that corner. Purington said that it was a popular road to drive on and it’s a
beautiful location. Bollinger suggested that they keep it under consideration, but they shouldn’t
decide on it without more information. Miller asked if pedestrians or cars had a higher priority
when considering the locations of these sculpture pads; he said that location #2 was nice
because it was visible from the road and it was at the convergence of two walking trails.
Bollinger said that the focus was for the sculpture pads was to be located along trails. Purington
said that focusing the sculptures on trails is a fantastic option, but she would like the Committee
to entertain other options as well.
Miller asked if they wanted to have discussion about having a sculpture pad at Mercer Park so
that they could have artwork at each location. Purington asked if they could reconsider the
proposed pad sites in order to expand the access and visibility of the sculptures. Bollinger said
that they could talk to Seydell-Johnson about locations that are more visible.
Motion: Purington moved that the Committee talk to Seydell-Johnson about expanding
the parameters of the proposed sculpture pads at Terry Trueblood Park and Mercer Park
in order to meet the road and expand the viewing access. The motion did not have a
second.
Motion: Knoche moved that the Committee move forward with Location #2 at Terry
Trueblood Park and Location #5 at Mercer Park for their visibility and accessibility to
both vehicular traffic as well as those utilizing the trails. Knoche withdrew the motion.
Purington recommended that the sculpture pads be placed somewhere without competing
background noise. Bollinger suggested that they move the pad to the right-hand side of the
proposed location in Mercer Park so that the playground would not be in the background. Truitt
said she also thinks the location should be on the right side.
Purington said that a nice space to put a sculpture pad would be next to the Aquatic Center.
Bollinger said that she isn’t sure that the sculptures would be very large. Miller agreed.
Bollinger said that they could table this conversation for the next meeting to give the Committee
time to go out and see the locations for themselves. Knoche said that Staff presented locations
for consideration, and he thinks that the Committee should respect Staff’s recommendations
and make a decision sooner rather than later so that they can get the pads installed. Purington
said that the more discussion they have, the better the solution they are going to come up with.
Bollinger said that she agrees with Knoche and she feels a bit uncomfortable continually
expanding their options for sculpture pad locations instead of focusing on the ones they were
given.
Motion: Knoche moved that the Committee move forward with Location #2 at Terry
Trueblood Park and Location #5 at Mercer Park for their visibility and accessibility to
both vehicular traffic as well as those utilizing the trails. Boyken seconded. The motion
passed on a vote of 5-1.
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Miller said that they should look at the sites more comprehensively and make a strategic plan
for the future.
Deaccession of Pheasant Hill Art Project
Bollinger said she had spoken with the artist of the Pheasant Hill Art Project and she cannot
make the repairs, but is completely understanding of the situation and the decision the
Committee has to make. Bollinger said the seat of the bench is deteriorating and the overall
bench is in bad shape. She said they need to do something fairly quickly because it is covered
in cut glass, and Seydell-Johnson will have her staff remove the mosaic at no charge. Truitt
asked if they could put grout in the spots where the mosaic has come off in order to smooth it
out while still maintaining what was originally there. Bollinger said that they had already tried
that method on one of the pillars. Bollinger said that they could have another artist come in and
replicate the design in paint to preserve what was once there. Truitt asked if they have plenty of
documentation of the project before it goes away for good. Bollinger said that she would check
into that.
Motion: Purington moved to approve the deaccession of the Pheasant Hill mosaic park
bench and accessories due to deterioration and danger to users. Truitt seconded. Motion
passed unanimously.
Capitol Street Parking Ramp – PS1 requested specifics of what information and process
will be used for discussion on May 6. Need to determine.
Bollinger said she needs feedback for what she should relay to John Englebrecht regarding
what he should be prepared to provide for the Committee meeting next month. Miller said he
would like an update on their perspective after they received more public input and if anything
has changed and why. Purington asked if Ford and Bollinger could share some highlights from
the PS1 forum they attended. Bollinger said that they talked about that earlier in the meeting
(before Purington arrived), but generally it was a very structured process and there wasn’t much
dialogue. Bollinger said that Englebrecht will provide the written notes. Ford asked if they were
planning on having a second public forum to get a greater representation from the Black
community. Bollinger said she would check on that. Purington asked how the Black community
felt about the mural in general. Ford said that they didn’t make that distinction in the report.
Purington asked for these types of meetings to be recorded in the future.
Purington said that she was offended when she filled out the form and it asked for
demographics and income, and asked why that was a question on the survey. Bollinger said
that a lot of people didn’t respond to those questions, but they asked them for the same reason
they asked for race – they wanted to get a picture of who was responding to the survey.
Committee Announcements and/or Committee/Staff Reports
Purington showed the Committee her Certificate of Appointment to the Public Art Advisory
Committee from 1997.
Miller asked if Bollinger was going to follow up about the subcommittees. Bollinger said she
would.
Adjournment
Knoche moved to adjourn the meeting. Purington seconded. The meeting was adjourned at
5:27 p.m.
6
Public Art Advisory Committee
Attendance Record
2020-2021
Name Term
Expires
6/4/20 7/2/20 8/6/20 9/3/20 10/1/20 11/5/20 12/3/20 1/7/21 2/4/21 3/4/21 4/15/21
Ron
Knoche
X X X X X X x X X X X
Juli
Seydell-
Johnson
X O/E X X X X x X X X O/E
Steve
Miller
12/31/20 X X X O/E X X X X X X X
Eddie
Boyken
12/31/21 X X O/E X X X X X X X X
Jan
Finlayson
12/31/20 X X O/E X O/E X X X X O/E O/E
Nancy
Purington
12/31/22 X X X X X X X X X X X
Andrea
Truitt
12/31/22 X X O/E X O/E X X X X X X
Dominic
Dongilli
12/31/23 -- X X X X X X X X X
Tonya
Kehoe
12/31/23 -- -- O O -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Sandy
Steil
12/31/23 -- -- -- -- -- O/E x X X X O/E
Public Art Matching Funds - April 2021
Project Applicant Comments
Funding
Award
Total
Project
Costs Defer/Reduce Is the overall MillerTruittBoykenDongilliTotal AverageTrumpet Blossom/Prairie MuralThomas Agran Completed 5/15/21 $2,000 $4,000 Reduce $1000+34 27 30 33 31.00
Open Air Media Festival PS1/Zen Cohen Occurs 6/25/21 $2,000 $7,575 Reduce $1050+32 28 28 32 30.00
Artifactory Art & Activity BookArtifactory aka Arts Iowa CityCompleted 6/30/21 $1,367 $3,100 Reduce $1000 24 27 27 28 26.50
Music by the Gross Red Cedar Chamber MusicOccurs 6/19/21 $1,817 $18,477 Reduce $500/1000 23 30 24 28 26.25
The Topography of in BetweenFannie Hungerford 6/17/21-6/19/21 $1,817 $6,000 Keep as is 27 27 23 27 26.00
$9,000
Defer
Day of the Dead Ofrenda Miriam Alarcon Avita Occurs 11/1/2021 $2,000 $5,000 Defer 35 28 35 32.67
PracticexPractice:Project 2 PracticexPractice (PxP)Occurs 10/1/21 $2,000 $4,000 Keep as is 25 29 26 24 26.00
Resounding Jason Snell April - June 2021 $2,000 $4,250 Defer 29 29 32 27 29.25
Honoring Black Lives Audrey Widemeier Completed June 2021 $1,230 $2,460 Defer 27 30 31 27 28.75
1st Avenue Mini Mall Bicycle MuralPeter Kaboli Completed 7/1/21 $2,000 $8,748 Defer 29 26 26 27 27.00
Topophilia Stephanie Dowda DeMer June $1,650 $2,650 Keep as is 22 23 23 26 23.50
Mammal Hall UI Museum of Natural HistoryJanuary - June 2021 $2,000 $5,350 Keep as is 23 24 23 21 22.75