Public Art Committee

Public Art Committee Summary Meeting Minutes Wednesday, March 17, 2021 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Zoom Meeting Public Meeting Zoom Link located: https://durhamnc.gov/453/Public-Art-Committee Committee Members Present Shana Adams Patricia Harris Wade Williams Mya Castillo-Marte Kyesha Jennings Caroline Dwyer Katie Seiz, Chair City/County Staff Present Alexandra Benson, GSD Pierce Freelon, City Brenda Hayes Bright, Rebecca Brown, GSD Councilmember Durham County Public Art Linda Salguero, Durham Fallon Thompson, GSD County Public Art Guests Present Candy Carver Brenda Miller Holmes Connor Nielsen Margaret DeMott I. Call to Order and Guest Introductions a. The meeting was called to order at 9:06 a.m. by Katie Seiz II. Approval of Minutes – February 2021 a. MOTION: The Durham Public Art Committee approves the February summary minutes (Castillo-Marte, Dwyer 2nd). b. ACTION: Approved. (7-0). III. Adjustments to the Agenda a. N/A IV. Announcements a. Open PAC liaisons position for upcoming public art projects i. Black Wall Street Gardens Public Art b. PAC Officer Nominations i. Chair and Vice-Chair nominations will be accepted during the March PAC meeting, for review and appointment during the April PAC meeting. Terms for Chair and Vice-Chair begin June 30, 2021 and end July 1, 2022. 1. Nominations can be sent via chat during meeting or via email c. Equity Training Survey i. Survey for PAC members to assess prior REI training and areas of interest for continued board racial equity training. V. Update / Old Business N/A VI. New Business and Presentations a. Downtown Durham, Inc. presented the public art project, Great Jones Street Mural Project, to the Public Art Committee. Brenda Miller Holmes and Connor Nielsen from Downtown Durham, Inc. discussed the RFQ process and background for the project. The project’s goal is to uplift what makes Durham unique and embrace the ways Durham nourishes us and connects us together as a community. b. Club Crossing, Groundplane / Asphalt Art i. Background: The City of Durham is one of 16 U.S. cities to receive $25,000 from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art Initiative grant program, which assists small and medium-sized cities looking to use art and design to improve street safety, revitalize public spaces, and engage their communities. The grant program is designed to create vibrant, new public spaces while also building city capacity for future collaborations with artists and community groups on transportation infrastructure projects. Durham’s award will fund collaboration between the City’s Transportation Department, Cultural and Public Art Program, and the Durham Parks Foundation to improve street and pedestrian safety throughout the Club Crossing project at the intersection of West Club Boulevard and Glendale Avenue in Durham. This public art project will tie distinct elements of this corridor together: Club Boulevard Elementary, Northgate Park, Ellerbe Creek Trail, and the East Coast Greenway. The Club Crossing project will use creative intervention to form a fun environment for elementary school students, families, and residents to safely experience street crossing and connectivity for the Club Boulevard Elementary School, Northgate Park, and the Ellerbe Creek Trail. The project intends to activate the intersection and travel lanes by adding artwork to the crosswalks in front of Club Boulevard Elementary, reducing speeding on West Club Boulevard, and increasing yielding to pedestrians crossing. The artists selected to complete the initial designs for Club Crossing project are Claire Alexandre, Candy Carver, Jai Martin, Renzo Ortega and Cassandra Rowe. Based on responses from more than 1,800 residents through an online community vote held in January and February of 2021, Candy Carver received the most votes for her proposed concept. Carver will work with community members and stakeholders to refine her initial designs for the crosswalk asphalt art to transform the intersection. More information has been publicly posted here: https://durhamnc.gov/4280/Club-Crossi ii. Artists Selection Process: Pre-Qualified Artist Registry with Artist Selection Panel comprised of community members, and City staff selecting the artists. The panel recommended five artists ( Claire Alexandre, Candy Carver, Jai Martin, Renzo Ortega and Cassandra Rowe Claire Alexandre, Candy Carver, Jai Martin, Renzo Ortega and Cassandra Rowe) to create initial designs for $750 each. iii. Community Conversations: 1. Initial Survey for safety & creative themes 2. Initial community conversations 2 virtual meetings  3. Flyer canvasing for initial survey and community vote. Signage on- site with QR codes. 4. Community Vote (+1800) to select finalist Candy Carver iv. PAC liaisons: Katie Seiz v. Budget: $750 per artist/artist team for initial designs. $5,000 for artist finalist, plus $XXXX for installation & supplies. vi. Timeline: Artist and Paid community liaisons will move towards final comments from stakeholders and neighborhood, and move toward installation in May 2021, based on approvals from the City. vii. Location: West Club Boulevard and Glendale Avenue Durham, NC 27704 viii. Approval process: Due to the public nature of the project, the Cultural & Public Art Program is recommending design review by the Public Art Committee and requesting a recommendation of approval. City of Durham reviews the final designs for safety concerns. ii. Presentation from Candy Carver, Selected Artist 1. Most community feedback came in the form of color palette changes and suggestions. There will be community volunteers to assist with the installation of the ground-plane mural. Because of safety requirements from the Transportation Department, no colors or designs will be present around the piano keys of the crosswalk and the design will be narrowed to fit inside of the piano keys instead. 2. The traffic re-route plan for the duration of the mural installation will be available at the end of March, with hard and soft closures included close to the installation site to ensure safety of the artists and volunteers. Neighbors and local residents will not be able to move their vehicles during the installation and will be notified by the City prior to installation to make proper parking accommodations. The installation will take approximately 24-36 hours to dry. iii. Action Item: Recommendation of approval for the Candy Carver to move forward to fabrication and installation based on the presented designs. 1. Motion: The Public Art Committee provides a recommendation of approval for Candy Carver’s Club Crossing designs. 2. Action: Approved (7-0).  d. Alignment with the Celebration of Black Artistry Public Art Projects in Neighborhoods and Neighborhood Public Art Project i. Review options for public art funding for neighborhoods from CIP Public Art Fund FY19/20. 1. Option 1: Provide $25,000 of equal support to all nine neighborhoods 2. Option 2: Provide $20,000 of equal funding across nine neighborhoods with $5000 allocated for documentation and project synthesis liaison 3. Option 3: Reserve $25,000 for future neighborhood projects ii. Action Item: To support the use of $25,000 from the FY19/20 CIP Public Art Fund intended for Neighborhood Public Art Projects as a part of the [option selected by group]. 1. Through the use of an online poll during the Zoom meeting, 6 votes were casted for Option 2 and 2 votes were casted for Option 3. The conversation and final recommendation vote will occur at the next PAC meeting in April. II. Public Questions (5 minutes) a. No questions were submitted prior to the meeting. III. Adjournment a. The meeting was called to a close at 10:30 a.m. by Katie Seiz. Submitted respectfully, Alexandra Benson