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4/5/2023 - Meeting Minutes ERIN MENDENHALL to ir.' LORENA RIFFO-JENSON MAYOR DIRECTOR DEPARTMENT of ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Salt Lake City Art Design Board Meeting April 5tn, 2023 5:00 —7:30 pm Webex Online&Finch Lane Gallery PRESENT: Tiffini Porter Meggie Troili Colour Maisch Michael Mejia Angela Dean Jen Lopez Staff Members Renato Olmedo-Gonzalez, Public Art Program Manager Felicia Baca,Arts Council Director Brenda Alavez, Public Art Program Coordinator Taylor Knuth, Deputy Arts Council Director Jacob Maxwell, Deputy Director of Economic Development EXCUSED: Alejandro Moya GUESTS: Susan Lundmark,Transportation Planner III Tyler Fonarow, Recreation Trails Manager Jacob Crane, Foothills Trailheads Stakeholder AGENDA I. Call to Order and Welcome Ms. Meggie Troili called the meeting to order. II. Approval of March ist, 2023 Minutes Mr. Michael Mejia motioned to approve the minutes as written.Ms.Angela Dean seconded the motion.All others voted in favor. III. 400 South Viaduct Trail— Recommendation to Mayor a) Requestfor Qualifications overview: Mr. Renato Olmedo-Gonzalez summarized the project's artwork goals and selection criteria as outlined in the Request for Qualifications issued for this project.The Art Design Board and stakeholders would be focusing on artists'past work and ability to execute a large infrastructure- focused project within a team made up of architects, contractors, and various city departments and divisions.Additionally, stakeholders and Board members would be using the artists'previous interviews and references to determine their ability to execute the project.The Art Design Board will be selecting an artist to act as a consultant and designer for this project—this project would not involve creating a singular, standalone artwork. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez also briefly reviewed each artists'background and experience as follows: ➢ Vito DiBari is a Miami, FL-based artist who works with the studio DiBari&Associates.A lot of his work uses light and technology to create high impact projects and has vast experience working internationally over the last two decades. ➢ The Haddad I Drugan team is made up of Laura Haddad and Tom Drugan.They are art planners and public artists based in Seattle,WA and have over 20 years of experience working nationally on projects. ➢ Sujin Lim is a Korean-born artist based in New York city;her art practice is rooted in sculpture with the cloud being a prominent theme in her work. She has 9 years of experience working on public art projects internationally. ➢ Suikang Zhao is a Chinese-American artist based in New York City,his work consists of a lot of sculpture installation and artwork configuration that are integrated into structures. He has completed projects in Salt Lake City and other cities around the country and has over 20 years of experience. b) Discussion of finalists: Ms.Tiffini Porter initiated the discussion with the caveat that, in her view,all four artists were highly competent, and she could envision all of them potentially doing great work. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez explained that the Board and stakeholders would discuss each of the artists individually and then proceed to make a decision. ➢ DiBari&Associates (Vito Di Bari): Ms. Porter felt that while DiBari's experience was impressive,his work encompassed a very broad range of aesthetics,but there was concern about how most of his projects were very high budget and high tech. Given that this project would involve a much lower budget and limited use of materials. Ms. Colour Maisch expressed similar thoughts and was also concerned as far as not really knowing what to expect from him or how he would execute this project because of how different each of his projects was. Other Board members and stakeholders agreed that their primary concern was Mr. DiBari's ability to work within the limitations of a smaller budget. ➢ Haddad I Drugan(Laura Haddad&Tom Drugan): Ms. Porter liked how their projects involved solving problems through art and were very smart about the functionality of their work. Mr. Michael Mejia pointed out that Haddad I Drugan, along with Suikang Zhao,specifically mentioned focusing on movement and how the work responds as you move through the space. Ms.Angela Dean felt that this team excelled at listening to and engaging with the community,more so than the other candidates. Other Board members also agreed that their creative ways of engaging the community were a strong suit for their presentation and work. There was also a general agreement that Haddad I Drugan would be able to work well within the limitations of the budget. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez also pointed out that they asked many smart and engaging questions about the project and were thinking very holistically about the project. ➢ Sujin Lim: Ms.Angela Dean expressed concerns about Ms. Lim's experience and ability to work with multidisciplinary teams, especially for the scale of this project. Ms. Porter felt that Ms. Lim had the most unique and freshest perspective of all the artists. Ms. Porter also felt that while she did not have as much experience as some of the other candidates, she could still execute the project in a very compelling way.Ms.Maisch and Ms.Troili also expressed similar sentiments; they found her aesthetically strong and exciting but there were some concerns over her ability to lead such a large project.The Board also pointed out that Ms. Lim's signature cloud imagery would likely be expected to be part of this project if she were selected. ➢ Suikang Zhao: Mr. Mejia felt that his emphasis on moving through space was very compelling. The Board expressed concerns similar to those with Mr. DiBari,that is,would they be able to execute something compelling within a smaller budget. Ms.Jen Lopez liked that Mr. Zhao engaged enthusiastically with the community and had worked previously in Utah. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez responded to Ms. Dean's inquiry on how the project budget was allocated and how the artist fee was ultimately determined. c) Recommendation to Mayor&Alternate Selection Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez asked each Board member and stakeholder to rank the artists based on their preferences. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez then created a shortlist in which Haddad I Dragan ranked as the top choice overall by a large margin.Ms. Lim and Mr. Zhao tied for second. Mr. Mejia motioned to recommend Haddad I Dragan for the 400 S Viaduct Trail project. Ms. Maisch seconded the motion.All other members voted in favor. The Board further deliberated on the alternate selection,this artist would be recommended for the project only if Haddad I Drugan they were are unable to fulfill the contract for whatever reason. Ms.Maisch felt Ms. Lim's work was fresher and more compelling than Mr.Zhao's.Ms. Porter added that although Ms. Lim has less experience, she is not"unexperienced"and has still proven to be highly capable of carrying out this public art project.Additionally,Ms. Lim has tended to do exciting work on a low budget so this project's budget would have a higher impact for Ms. Lim. Ms. Dean expressed having reservations with both Ms. Lim and Mr.Zhao. Ms. Maisch motioned to select Sujin Lim as an alternate for the 400 S Viaduct Trail project.Ms. Porter seconded the motion. Ms. Dean opposed the motion.All other Board members voted in favor. IV. Foothills Trailheads:Bike Rack Murals —Artist Selection a) Requestfor Qualifications overview Salt Lake City Public Lands Recreation Trails Manager,Mr. Tyler Fonarow, gave a general overview of the work that Public Lands would be doing on the Bonneville Boulevard and Popperton Park Trailheads (the sites of this public art project) and how the staff envisions activating those spaces. Ms.Alavez summarized the project's artwork goals and selection criteria as outlined in the Requestfor Qualifications issued for this project. She clarified that today's meeting was not a selection of what would be painted on the Bike Racks; only the ten artists would be selected in today's meeting. Selected artists would be asked to submit their mural proposals that would then be reviewed in May's Art Design Board meeting. Unique to this project,the Salt Lake City Public Art Program developed this project as an opportunity to commission as many artists as possible and provide a public art opportunity for emerging artists. Ms.Alavez explained how the presentation of artists who submitted qualifications would be organized.Applicants were ranked according to a total number of points received by the Art Design Board and then grouped into Low,Mid, High, and No scores.The Board would first review the High Scorers'submissions and move to the lower scoring applicants if needed. Ms.Alavez showcased applications that had received the highest scores.A total of ten artists received high scores. The Board agreed that all the high scorers exhibited high quality work.Ms. Troili and Ms. Porter felt that there was a good variety of disciplines, aesthetics, and experience levels among the top ten. The Board quickly reviewed the mid scoring applicants to see if there were any other artists that stood out for consideration. One artist,Mr. Bill Louis,who had originally received a mid-score was discussed further. Stakeholder Mr. Fonarow and Mr. Mejia preferred Mr. Louis over other artists in the top scores.Mr. Louis's aesthetic and background was very similar to another artist in the top ten,Ms.Vaimoana Niumeitolu. Board members had a discussion about the project's various artwork goals and their desire to include a diverse group of commissioned artists in its final roster. The professional histories of Ms.Niumeitolu and Mr. Louis was discussed and the Board ultimately determined that Mr. Louis would be a better fit for this project. After final discussions and reviews of the top ten artists'work,the Board determined the following ten artists selected for this project. In alphabetical order, according to last names,these were: Chuck Berrett Xander Brickey Elizabeth Carrington Eric Fairclough Valerie Jar Bill Louis Evan Jed Memmott Caro Nilsson Brooklyn Ottens Sri Whipple Ms. Maisch motioned to select the above-listed ten artists for the Foothills Trailheads:Bike Rack Murals project. Ms. Dean seconded the motion.All other Board members voted in favor. V. Public Comment none. VI. Other Business/Adjourn a) Ms. Baca gave the Board an update on the Seven Canyons Fountain. She clarified that Public Lands has jurisdiction of the fountain as it is not part of the Salt Lake City public art collection.The decision was made that the cost to have water flowing through the fountain were too great in conjunction with the environmental concerns of water usage. Based on previous community engagement and feedback,the decision was made to keep the fountain but as a dry fountain.The City is reaching out to the original artists to work on a restoration of the fountain. b) Mr. Mejia motioned to adjourn.Ms. Porter seconded the motion.All other Board members voted in favor.