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09/04/2024 - Meeting Minutes ERIN MENDF.NNAT.T. �= r ■ x LORENA RIFFO-JEN SON MAYOR '`n" n u =�7c DIRECTOR DEPARTMENT of ECONOMIC DEVELOP.vIENT Salt Lake Art Design Board Meeting Wednesday,September 41h, 2024 5:00 -7:00pm PRESENT: Tiffini Porter Alex Moya Colour Maisch Jen Lopez Angela Dean Michael Mejia Staff Members Felicia Baca, Executive Director,Arts Council Laurel Cannon Alder,Assistant Director,Arts Council Renato Olmedo-Gonzalez,Public Art Program Manager,Arts Council Amy Childress, Public Art Program Coordinator,Arts Council EXCUSED: Meggie Troili GUESTS: Nancy Monteith, Senior Landscape Architect, SLC Public Lands Kat Andra, Public Land Planner, SLC Public Lands Jarred Martinez, University Neighborhood Partners Wisam Khudhair,University Neighborhood Partners Dane Hess, Salt Lake City School District Mission: To amplify art in Salt Lake City to enrich, enhance, and build a dynamic city where art and artists thrive. 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 had everyone in attendance introduce themselves and formally introduced Mrs. Laurel Cannon Alder,the new Assistant Director of the Salt Lake City Arts Council to the Board. II. Approval of August 74h, 2024 Minutes Ms.Angela Dean put forward a motion to approve the August 7th meeting minutes, Mr. Michael Mejia seconded the motion; all Board members present voted in favor. III. Glendale Park('Iconic'West Side)public art opportunity Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez presented an overview of the Request for Qualifications for the Glendale Park (`Iconic'West Side) public art opportunity. He reviewed the project's eligibility requirements and recapped its details.The`Iconic'West Side public art opportunity is part of a larger initiative initiated by Mayor Mendenhall in 2023.The selected artist will be responsible for two items: 1) creating and installing the artwork, and 2)collaborating with West Side community members to inform the design of the final artwork.Through their community engagement efforts,the Salt Lake City Arts Council found that it was important for community members to be involved in the process.The Board will choose finalists for this project during this meeting. 1 Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez presented background information on the project,highlighting the history of Salt Lake City's West Side and the community initiative requested by Mayor Mendenhall in 2023. He also provided a description of Glendale Park and outlined potential locations within the park for the public art project.Ms.Nancy Monteith and Ms. Kat Andra discussed the new features to be included in the Glendale Park construction.This public art commission will be included in`Phase 2'of the park's development.The five proposed art locations are: 1) near the entrance to serve as a gateway element, 2)between the eastern entrance and the parking lot of the proposed outdoor swimming Pool, 3) south of the central parking lot and north of the hiking/sledding hill,4) northeast of the flex lawn/performance space, or 5)the hill where the Raging Waters waterslides used to be.Mr. Olmedo- Gonzalez also detailed the community engagement that the future commissioned artist will conduct for this public art opportunity.The commission budget for this project is $425,000,which is supported by the voter-approved Parks,Trails, and Open Space General Obligation(GO) Bond.The budget will be divided into two separate agreements, one for design/community engagement and the other for artwork fabrication/installation. The goal for this meeting is for the Board to select three (3)finalists to join them for an in-person interview on Wednesday,November 6th,2024.After the interview process is concluded,the Art Design Board will recommend a finalist and one alternate to the Mayor,who has final approval for artist commission.The meeting's attendees read the project's artwork goals and selection criteria. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez reported that 145 total artist applications were received for this project. He explained how that the shortlist was determined based on scores from the Art Design Board, SLC Public Lands, and community stakeholders, including representatives from University Neighborhood Partners and SLC School District.A total of 32 artists, studios, or artist-led teams were shorthsted. This shortlist,listed from highest(3 points max)to lowest score(1 point for lowest scored)were color-coded in green(top half of top scores) and yellow(lower half of top scores) The green artists included:Volkan Alkanoglu, Benjamin Ball,The Very Many, Summer Wheat, Partwise Design,Art& Contraptions, Ivan Depena, Linda Fernandez and Team, Ignition Arts, Donald Lipski,May& Watkins Design, RDG Art Studio, Shan Sha Sheng, and SOFTlab. Those highlighted in yellow on the shortlist include MGA Sculpture Studio, Formations Studio, Solomon Bassoff&Domenica Mottarella, Paula Castillo, Sijia Chen, Studio Folio, David Garcia, Pete Goldlust&Melanie Germond, CJR Design, Forma Studio,Xavier Cortada, Simon Donovan&Ben Olmstead, Christopher Fennell, Brad Goldberg, Matthey Mazzotta,Matt Monsoon,VS Siteworks, and Jeff Zischke. Mr. Olmedo- Gonzalez asked those present if there were any artists who did not make the artist shortlist that they would like to discuss. Mr. Mejia requested that artist Priscilla de Carvalho be discussed further. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez explained that he would review each artist on the shortlist, including their score and examples of their artwork,followed by a discussion with the Board.The Board would primarily focus on the artists at the top of the shortlist(indicated in green),but could also bring up artists ranked lower(indicated in yellow)for further discussion.To help guide the Board's deliberation,he emphasized two key points: 1)the most important thing for this project would be to pick an artist who can successfully work and engage with the community, and 2)West Side community members expressed a desire for artwork that is big and colorful. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez then presented all artists on the shortlist. Ms. Felicia Baca mentioned that the artist Matthew Mazzotta has a strong track record and reputation of working with communities effectively. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez agreed, adding that Mazzotta's art is very"playful",which is an important aspect that should be considered for this commission.As a result,the Board concurred that Matthew Mazzotta be moved into the green(top)part of the shortlist. Board members also recommended that the artists Paula Castillo and David Garcia be moved up int to the green(top)part of the shortlist. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez noted that the application materials submitted by David Garcia included a large public art commission from Denver, so he has experience handling a large commission. 2 Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez mentioned several local artists and teams that submitted qualifications but did not make the shortlist: a)Michael Whiting team,b) Clever Cucumber team c) Day Christensen& Brooke Robertson, and d) Shelley&Rob Beishline of Tooza Design.None of these artists were included in the final shortlist that was discussed. Board members discussed the artist Volkan Alkanoglu and felt that his application was not strong enough to be in the green (top)part of the shortlist. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez moved Volkan Alkanoglu to the yellow(bottom)part of the shortlist. Board members discussed the advantages and disadvantages of having a large-scale, monumental commission versus a smaller,human-scale commission.They also discussed the various types of artworks that could be considered for commission. Several artists'work was more figurative,while others was more abstract.Additionally, the functionality elements of a potential artwork—such as providing shade or shelter—were discussed.Their discussion informed their approach of artist selection. Board members discussed the following artists and Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez moved the following down to the yellow(bottom)part of the shortlist: Summer Wheat, Carol May&John Franzen (May+Watkins Design),Anaisa Franco (Ignition Arts), and David Garcia.After further discussion, Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez moved the following up to the top four(4)positions for now: Marc Fornes (THEVERYMANY), Donald Lipski, Ivan Depena,and Matthew Mazzotta. Finalist selection Mr.Mejia put forward a motion to select two of the three finalists: Ivan Depefia and Matthew Mazzotta. Ms. Dean seconded the motion.All Board members present voted in favor.Mr. Olmedo- Gonzalez then presented the work of Paula Castillo,the team of Linda Fernandez, and Donald Lipski to the Board.The Board discussed the artists'past work and experience,with particular attention to how they aligned with the desired qualifications and artwork goals for the project.The Board inquired about the possibility of selecting four finalists instead of three. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez noted that this could be accommodated,but it would require a minimum of three hours to interview the finalists in November.The Board agreed to proceed with this approach.Ms. Colour Maisch put forward a motion to select two more finalists: Paula Castillo and Donald Lipski.Mr. Mejia seconded the motion.All Board members present voted in favor. IV. Art Design Board membership Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez announced that this is Mr.Moya's last meeting with the Art Design Board. He and the Board thanked him for his service over the last three years. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez announced that Ms. Maisch is willing and able to become the new Art Design Board Chair. Ms. Porter put forward a motion to approve Ms. Maisch as the Art Design Board Chair. Mr. Mejia seconded the motion.All Board members present voted in favor. V. Public Comment There were no public comments. VI. Other Business/Adjourn Ms. Felicia Baca provided Public Art Program&Arts Council updates. She updated the Board on "Wake the Great Salt Lake"project.The Arts Council is under contract with a curator for the project. The Board will be engaged with a shortlist of artists based on interest and availability for the Phase 2 part of the project. Both Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez and Ms. Baca talked about the Bloomberg Philanthropies visit that happened this past August,which included a Public Art Tour and stakeholder interviews and evaluation workshops with local artists. Mr. Olmedo-Gonzalez said that he is currently working on the Seven Canyons Fountain project with Ms. Kat Andra from Public Lands, and the artist Mr. Stephen Goldsmith. He says it hopes to be 3 completed by fall 2025. Ms. Baca mentioned that the Arts Council received $500,000 from the City's Capital Improvement Program (CIP)to make improvements to the Art Barn, and$30,000 for the Public Art Program. Mr.Alex Moya put forward a motion to close the meeting. Ms. Maisch seconded; all Board members present voted in favor. 4