Public Art Committee

Public Art Committee SUMMARY MINUTES Wednesday, September 26, 2018 Durham Arts Council, 120 Morris Street, Durham, NC 27701 Committee Members Present Calvin Brett Caitlin Margaret Kelly Wade Williams Johanna Rose-Burwell Chris Ogden Chantal Winston Mya Castillo-Marte Charlene Reiss * Cultural Advisory Board member Margaret DeMott* Laura Ritchie Valerie Gillespie Katie Seiz*, Chair Guests Present Sherry DeVries, Durham Arts Council Dan Ellison, Cultural Advisory Board Rachel Wexler,* DDI City of Durham Staff and Representatives Present Andre Pettigrew, Office of Economic and Workforce Development Steven Hicks, General Services Department Jina Propst, General Services Department Stacey Poston, General Services Department Cason Whitcomb, General Services Department I. Call to Order Katie Seiz called the meeting to order 8:30am. II. Approval of Minutes August meeting minutes approved. III. Adjustments to the Agenda IV. Presentations i. Durham Public Art Program Transition Director of Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) Andre Pettigrew announced the City’s transition of the Cultural and Public Arts program from OEWD to the office of General Services (GSD). OEWD has been tasked to better connect the Durham community with economic development opportunities and both departments  Public Art Committee Believe that the GSD has the resources available to best support the program moving forward. Director of GSD Steven Hicks spoke on GSD’s commitment to making the program a priority in the strategic plan and Sustainability Roadmap. GSD has also begun the process of reclassifying a position to dedicate a full-time employee to support the program. Stacey Poston will serve as Public Art Liaison until the new position is filled. ii. Durham Police Headquarters Complex Design Concept – David Wilson David Wilson presented his design concept for a mural along the Main Street Corridor at the Durham Police Headquarters Complex. David held three engagement sessions at Durham Technical College May – June 2018 with intentional community members, groups, and DPD officers. Themes emerging from the session included racial equity in law enforcement, the influence of power and privilege, and connected stories. David used these engagement sessions to better inform his mural design, focusing on the question of what peace looks like to the Durham community. David Wilson will create a 9 ft. x 33 ft. mural in his signature collage style, using images of Durham community members alongside of iconic imagery and maps of the surrounded area. The mural will be painted on canvas and installed on the wall in sections, which will allow the mural to be easily removed for maintenance or other reasons. David will hold a photography event at Durham Tech in which community members will be invited to be photographed and potentially be included in his design. David will use a bright color palette and bold shapes to catch attention and will include cultural symbols to reference the varying cultural definitions and histories associated with peace and peacemaking. David presented a second design that featured a more simplistic outline of the R. Kelly Bryant Pedestrian Bridge, but after conversation with the Public Art Committee he agreed that his first iteration was stronger. The Public Art Committee also cautioned David on using a making sure his constructed mural would fit in to the building’s doorways and to revisit the use of symbols in the lower portion of his second design, as some members felt as if they resembled the Free Mason symbol. MOTION: To accept David Wilson’s design proposal, with the inclusion of public art committee input. (Reiss, Kelly 2nd) ACTION: Motion accepted 11-0 V. New Business i. Neighborhood Park Mural Project Whipporwill Design Concept  Public Art Committee Dare Coulter’s design concept was shared with the Public Art Committee for a mural at Whipporwill Park. Dare incorporated PAC and City feedback and created a new design concept featuring a joyous child in a wheelchair being carried away by a bouquet of balloons. Dandelions and fireflies are featured on one wall, the phrase “You Are Everything” is featured on another wall, and the final wall holds the phrase “It’s Always a Good Time to Make Your Dreams Happen”. The public art committee appreciates the new color scheme of yellow and purple and agrees that the design is a better fit overall. Committee members feel as if the “It’s Always a Good Time to Make Your Dreams Happen” text design is incomplete. Members encourage Dare to carry over the text used on the “You Are Everything” wall to both text designs. MOTION: To accept Dare Coulter’s design concept for a mural at Whipporwill Park. (Kelly, Burwell 2nd) Action: Motion accepted 11-0 VI. Updates/Old Business i. Re:Site: Durham Police Headquarters Stacey Poston, GSD updated the public art committee on the current status of the public art installations at the Durham Police Headquarters. Last month, RE:Site presented three design concepts to the Public Art Committee. Additionally, the Public Art Committee went on a site tour of the Durham Police Headquarters building. After review, City staff asked RE:Site to present a design concept that included an interior installation similar to “Sewing Peace” and the smaller-scale “Woven Shield” exterior installation within the project budget. The resulting “Sewing Peace + Woven Shield” features an excerpt of the Oath of Office reimagined as a three dimensional installation. Text will be installed perpendicular to the wall with colored thread extending from the text. The resulting image, when viewed from a distance, evokes a quilt motif. The oath excerpt can be read as the viewer passes underneath the installation. The Woven Shield sculpture will stand 12 ft. tall with a 6 ft. plinth. The artist team is exploring the idea of burying the plinth. The shield will be constructed with hydrographic painted metal rods. The glass of lobby will have bird- deterrent dots applied, which isn’t represented in the rendering. Glass also gives off some glare during the day due to sunlight. In order to fully experience the piece during the day viewers would need to be inside the building. Artists did not provide a rendering of the piece at night. The lobby will be lit by overhead lighting 24 hours a day. The artist team also designed a rendering of “Sewing Peace + Woven Shield” using a single line of text from the Oath. The Public Art committee, City review team, and DPD Executive Command Staff all prefer the first “Sewing Peace + Woven Sheild” that incorporates an excerpt of the Oath, rather than the single line of text.  Public Art Committee The Public Art committee feels very strongly that there is a need to include an exterior installation. The committee also inquired about the possibility of engraving on to the plinth; the plinth would be able to be engraved. The excerpt of the Oath has not been selected and some Public Art committee members feel very strongly that it should not include any religious reference. There will be further discussion regarding the exact text used in the piece. Some public art committee members are concerned about the shape of the threaded letters, as it could resemble flags rather than a quilted pattern and is not fully representative of the Durham community. The artist is encouraged to explore more abstract shapes. The Public Art committee also strongly encourage there to be information about both the interior and exterior installations on the exterior of the building. No Action Required. ii. Black Wall Street Garden The call for public art at Black Wall Street Gardens closed on (date). 95 applications were received. The jury panel will meet in October to begin scoring the applications and more information will be shared at the next meeting. iii. Mixed-Use Parking Garage A Termination for Convenience was issued by the City primarily due to the artist team being unable to present a concept within budget and appropriate scope without affecting the overall garage construction schedule. The architectural firm will use the remaining public art project budget to design an artistic façade. Designs will be shared at the upcoming public art committee meeting. iv. Banner Design Contest The winning Banner Design Contest design will be announced in an upcoming press release next week. The public art committee will be notified of the announcement prior to the press release. VII. Adjournment Meeting adjourned 10:25am. Respectfully submitted, Cason E. Whitcomb, GSD