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12/06/2023 - Meeting Minutes y ERIN MENDENHALL rn ;'',-� LORENA RIFFO-JENSON MAYOR i DIRECTOR DEPARTMENT of ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Salt Lake Art Design Board Meeting Wednesday, December 6th, 2023 5:00 — 7:15 pm Zoom Online PRESENT: Colour Maisch Angela Dean Alex Moya Jen Lopez Michael Mejia Tiffin Porter Staff Members Felicia Baca,Arts Council Executive Director Taylor Knuth,Arts Council Deputy Director Renato Olmedo-Gonzalez, Public Art Program Manager Amy Childress, Public Art Program Coordinator Andrew Shaw, Special Projects Coordinator EXCUSED: Meggie Troili GUESTS: Jasmine Walton, Director of Community Initiatives and Marketing, NeighborWorks Salt Lake Chris Norlem, Salt Lake City Engineering Division Kyle Cook, Salt Lake City Transportation Division Day Christensen,finalist Lenka Konopasek,finalist Matt Monson(Monsoon Creative),finalist AGENDA I. Call to Order,Welcome, and Introductions Mr.Alex Moya welcomed everyone to the meeting and stated the Art Design Board's Mission. Mr. Renato Olmedo-Gonzalez asked everyone attending the meeting to introduce themselves. II. Approval of October 4th, 2023 Minutes Ms.Tiffini Porter put forward the motion to approve the October 4th, 2023 minutes as written. Ms. Colour Maisch seconded the motion; all Board members present voted in favor. III. 50o North/Fairpark Traffic Calming Measures finalist presentations Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez went over the eligibility for artists and project background of the 500 North/Fairpark Traffic Calming Measures Public Art Project. He then went over the project timeline and stated that by the end of the meeting, one of the three finalist proposals will be selected by the Art Design Board and recommended to Mayor Mendenhall for commission.The artwork is expected to be installed by late spring/summer of 2024. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez then had individuals take turns reading the Artwork Goals and the Artists Qualifications for this project. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez then went over the Engagement Efforts for this project,which comprised of a survey that was conducted in the Spring of 2023 and yielded 247 individual responses from community members. The survey produced a thorough report that outlined the neighborhood's wishes and desires for what the artwork should reflect and provided a springboard for what the artists should consider when developing their proposals.This final report was given to each finalist upon their selection.The three finalists to be presenting their proposals during this meeting are Mr. Day Christensen,Ms. Lenka Konopasek, and Mr. Matt Monson (Monsoon Creative). Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez stated that these the final proposals submitted by three artists were given to City colleagues in Fire, Engineering, and Transportation for feedback and no major concerns were found. For the first presentation, Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez introduced finalist Mr. Christensen to everyone in attendance. Mr. Christensen began his presentation by mentioning several aspects from the community survey that stood out to him: a desire that the piece be colorful,that it reflects animals native to the area, and that it be a sculptural piece. Since one of the main items brought up in survey was the neighborhood's wild turkeys, Mr. Christensen decided to focus on those for the subject matter of his proposals and presented an artwork only for the Soo North 1300 West traffic circle. He developed three different approaches of wild turkeys in his proposed public art piece. His first concept was a contemporary sculpture of a turkey made of green/yellow laser cut steel,measuring was io feet tall. He mentioned that he was open to color ideas and exploring other possibilities for adjusting this design with the Art Design Board. His second concept consisted of a classical style sculpture of a turkey in casted bronze,measuring 5 feet tall turkey, and finished with a traditional blue,green patina.The third concept consisted of a more figurative piece,comprised of a family of wild turkeys, sculpted out of laser cut metal in the shape of a circle. Mr. Christensen stated that color seemed to be an important element from the survey and that he would be open to explore colors for the 3ra concept. Several of the board members asked Mr. Christensen about color choices for his concepts. Mr. Christensen reiterated that he is open to collaboration with the Art Design Board in regard to the final color selection. Kyle Cook and Chris Norlem gave their feedback,from an Engineering and Transportation perspective, about Mr. Christensen's proposals. For the second presentation,Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez introduced the next finalist,Ms. Lenka Konopasek. Ms. Konopasek went over her background as an artist and stated that she was interested in designing a piece influenced by the responses found within the community survey. Her inspirations included the Utah State Fairgrounds,the neighborhood's namesake,wild turkeys,the Jordan River nature area, and stylized flowers in the Papel Picado style, a Mexican paper cutout tradition. Her goal for the piece is to create an identifying icon for the neighborhood that members can take ownership of. She wants to represent the diversity within the neighborhood by combining various elements found in different cultures and using vibrant and symbolic colors. She proposes to include artwork on both the traffic circle as well as the splitter islands. For the traffic circle she proposes to create 7.5 feet by 5 feet wide turquoise"Turkey Carousel." For the splitter islands, she would like to create several stylized 4 feet to 5 feet high steel turkeys and flowers that are"sprouting" out of the concrete.Ms. Konopasek then went over her budget as well as her project schedule. The board discussed the proposal with Ms. Konopasek, asking her question concerning installation logistics, and size and color concerns. For the final presentation, Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez introduced finalist Mr.Matt Monson(Monsoon Creative).Mr.Monson went over his personal connection to the project, stating the traffic circle is a few blocks away from his home. He then proceeded to go over his background as an artist.After reviewing the community survey,he found several recurring themes including creating an"artwork for the neighborhood, not to the neighborhood"; an artwork that honors the neighborhood's history and celebrates and uplifts the people within the neighborhood. His proposal is influenced by a Wallace Stegner quote: "Culture is a pyramid to which each of us brings a stone." His proposal includes both the traffic circle and splitter islands.The sculptures will be created using 1/2" steel plates that are CnC cut.The main sculpture for the traffic circle is 8 feet by 9 feet.The sculpture features an upside pyramid with four faces on the top.An additional placemaking feature is included, which states"Fairpark, SLC."Mr. Monson went over why he choose the symbol of an upside-down pyramid for his design, mentioning that the city is run by makers, artists,immigrants, and laborer, which he wanted to symbolically show an even-level playing field that offers equal opportunities for all. Some of his goals for the artwork included reflecting the diversity and spirit of the Fairpark neighborhood as well as creating a focal point for the neighborhood.Mr. Monson went over the dimensions,the design features,the materials and installation details,the budget, and project schedule for the artwork.The board discussed the proposal with Mr.Monson and asked questions concerning the faces used for the sculpture, as well as the pieces he proposed for the splitter islands. The board discussed all three finalists'proposals.Ms.Angela Dean liked the Trd concept of Mr. Christensen's proposal but also really liked Matt Monson's proposal.Jasmine Walton really appreciated Matt Monson's direction of honoring the neighborhood with his proposal and that it was different from the first two.Mr.Alex Moya enjoyed the faces of Matt Monson's proposal and found the central piece to be strong but was not as inspired by his splitter island proposal.Mr.Norlem and Mr. Cooke found some concerns about the splitter island pieces that were proposed by Mr.Monson as well as with his budget and materials.With those concerns regarding Mr. Monson's proposal, Ms. Felicia Baca proposed the option of just focusing on the traffic circle sculpture and not the splitter island pieces. Ms. Colour Maisch asked about concerns dealing with the possibility of a car hitting whichever sculpture is chosen. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez went over the process that the Public Art Program has in place for maintenance and conservation in case of accidents or damage to the public art permanent collection.Mr.Moya proposed that the board select the top two.Ms. Maisch proposed Ms. Konopasek's and Mr.Monson's proposal as the top two choices.The rest of the Board agreed with that selection.The Board expressed some concerns with Ms. Konopasek's design vs.the physical model she presented to the board. Several board members felt like Mr. Monson's proposal would resonate with the community but are also concerned about his budget and the structural design. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez stated that the Public Art program will work with the selected artist, as well as colleagues from Transportation and Engineering,to make sure the final design will work for the site. Regarding Mr. Monson's proposal,Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez proposed asking him to forgo the splitter islands, and that he would work closely with the artist during the engineering phase if his proposal was chosen. Ms. Dean motioned that the Board forward a recommendation to the Mayor for Mr. Monsoon to be the selected artist for the Soo North/Fairpark Traffic Calming Measures project; all board members voted in favor. IV. FY23-24 CIP Percent-for-Art Projects and Process Mr. Renato Olmedo-Gonzalez addressed the Board and explained that the Public Art Program is moving forward with a process for site selection for the FY23-24 CIP Percent-for-Art funding. Additionally,he provided an overview of the Public Art Program's workload,which include several Public Lands'GO Bond projects,implementation of the Bloomberg Public Art Challenge Grant, and other CIP projects not part of Percent-for-Art funding that will require project administration from the Public Art Program. Ms. Baca stated that this year is a bit different and that the sites for Public Art have been preselected, based on conversations with our Salt Lake City colleagues; the Board will be asked to focus its efforts on art selection rather than of site selection. V. Public Comment No public comment was received. VI. Other Business/Adjourn Ms. Maisch made a motion to close the meeting; Ms. Dean seconded.All Board members present voted in favor. Next meeting will be held Wednesday,January 3rd, 2024.