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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-10-20 Public Art Commission Summary Minutes MINUTES PUBLIC ART COMMISSION MEETING Thursday, October 20, 2022 Community Meeting Room & Virtual 7:00 p.m. Commissioners Participating: Nia Taylor, Hsinya Shen, Lisa Waltuch, Ben Miyaji Commissioners Absent: Loren Gordon City Council Participating: Lydia Kou, Vice Mayor Staff Present: Elise DeMarzo, Public Art Program Director Nadya Chuprina, Public Art Program Coordinator CALL TO ORDER – Chair Taylor called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS – none. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS – None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - PAC Regular Meeting September 15, 2022 Moved: Commissioner Miyaji; Second: Vice Chair Waltuch, All in Favor. PAC Annual Retreat September 17, 2022. Moved: Vice Chair Waltuch; Second: Commissioner Miyaji. All in Favor. STAFF COMMENTS – Staff updated the PAC on the design development for art banners and barricade covers. Staff also provided an update about ArtLift Microgrant projects that are currently on display and shared dates for upcoming community engagement events. Staff also announced the date for the CASP Open Studios event. Staff shared images of installed permanent sculpture by artist Susan Zoccola along Charleston – Arastradero transit corridor. ACTION: 1. Adoption of Resolution – Commissioners reviewed the resolution authorizing the use of teleconferencing for the Public Art Commission meetings during Covid-19 state of emergency. On September 16, 2021, the Governor signed AB 361, a bill that amends the Brown Act, effective October 1, 2021, to allow local policy bodies to continue to meet by teleconferencing during a state of emergency without complying with restrictions in State law that would otherwise apply, provided that the policy bodies make certain findings at least once every 30 days. Moved: Commissioner Shen moved to approve the resolution authorizing the use of teleconferencing for the Public Art Commission meetings. Second: Commissioner Miyaji. All in Favor. 2. Temporary Murals Program - Staff detailed the timeline and process for the implementation of a pilot Temporary Murals Program for murals painted on private property and funded by the City, including the launch of the muralist roster, release of a call for walls, publication of commissioning process information packet, artist and location selection process, approval processes, and proposed Murals Festival to take place on California Ave in May 2023. Staff recommended the approval of the process for commissioning temporary murals (up to 5 years) on private property and funded by the City. There was some discussion about language to clarify property owner rights, proper documentation of the murals festival and desired duration of 5 years for the temporary murals to remain on the wall and maintained by the City. Moved: Chair Taylor moved to approve the process. Second: Commissioner Shen. All in Favor. 3. De-Accession of Artwork – Staff detailed commissioning history of the Poetry Wall mural located at 2506 Middlefield Road. Staff outlined the maintenance history and ongoing concerns about physical condition of the mural based on the reports provided by an art conservation consultant. Based on the considerations provided in the deaccessioning staff report, staff recommended that PAC approves deaccessioning the Poetry Wall mural from the City’s permanent collection of art. Staff reiterated that guided by the recommendations provided by the PAC at the June 16, 2022 PAC meeting staff will present two options for the recreation of the mural as temporary artwork including a projected lifespan and cost estimates as a separate action item on the current agenda. Moved: Chair Taylor moved to approve the deaccessioning of the Poetry Wall mural from the City’s permanent public art collection. Second: Commissioner Shen. All in Favor. 4. Temporary Murals – As a follow-up to Action Item 3 “De-Accession of Artwork” staff updated the Commissioners on the findings per the PAC’s request from June 16 to provide options for the reproduction of the mural as temporary artwork and exploring with the community if there is any support for commissioning a new temporary mural. Staff presented the following options to the PAC: 1) reproducing the mural as temporary artwork by repainting it on the wall with an expected life span of 7-10 years and estimated cost of up to $18,000, and b) reproducing the mural as temporary artwork by digitally printing it on adhesive aluminum material with an expected lifespan of 2-3 years and estimated cost of $14,500. Prior to recreating the temporary mural, the existing mural would need to be removed and the wall prepped and primed. The cost estimate for that aspect of the project was estimated at $10,500. Since the June 16 meeting, one of the featured poets expressed her support for the re-creation of the temporary mural by the means of painting it. Staff shared that in the course of their conversations with Midtown residents and outreach to the artists regarding the deaccession since the June meeting, they found support for the recreation of the poetry wall as a temporary project, and did not hear support for a new mural. Staff recommended the Commission approve a reproduction of the Poetry Wall mural as temporary artwork and requested funding up to $29,000 from the CIP fund to remove the existing mural, prepare the wall, and reproduce the mural. Moved: Chair Taylor made a motion to create a new mural and not to refabricate the existing mural in a different substrate. Second: Commissioner Miyaji. Passed 3-1 (Commissioner Shen – No; Chair Taylor Yes; Vice Chair Waltuch – Yes; Commissioner Miyaji - Yes). Commissioner Shen made an alternate motion to approve recreating the poetry wall as temporary artwork by the means of digitally printing the image onto adhesive aluminum material with an expected lifespan of 2-3 years while engaging the community in conversation about a new mural commission in the future. No Second. 5. Fire Station 4 – Public Works staff provided a summary of the construction project for the replacement of Fire Station 4 at 3600 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto, justification for the replacement project, community layout and stakeholders, facility needs to inform schematic design and a tentative timeline for the ARB review and community outreach. Construction is anticipated to start Spring 2024 and be completed in Fall 2025. Public Art Program staff provide a summary of the artist selection process and design development for the artwork incorporated into the new Fire Station 4. Given the specifics of the project site staff suggested that public art may be potentially architecturally integrated into the building. Staff requested that PAC approve allocation of funding in the amount of $110,000 inclusive of a 10% contingency to begin the process for integrating public art into Fire Station 4. Moved: Commissioner Shen moved to allocate the funds for the project. Second: Vice Chair Waltuch. All in Favor. 6 Adoption of PAC Priorities for 2022/23 - Commissioners reviewed PAC draft working priorities for 2022/23 the Commissioners had discussed during their Annual PAC Retreat on September 17, 2022. Commissioners amended some verbiage for the Social Justice Priority: - Building Community Priority: Develop public art that encourages playing, belonging, community participation and that promotes shared experiences in and around Palo Alto neighborhoods and commercial corridors. - Social Justice Priority: Develop public art projects that will continue to advance ethnic and cultural inclusion and social, racial, and gender equity. - Public Art Education Priority: Widen and strengthen education and advocacy for public art, including through the roll-out and implementation of the California Ave District Master Plan and the Baylands Art Plan, and PAMP long-term goals, while responding to current issues and supporting a wider network of artists. Moved: Vice Chair Waltuch moved to approve the priorities as amended. Second: Commissioner Miyaji. All in Favor. ANNOUNCEMENTS – Staff made an announcement about upcoming CASP Open Studios event on November 12 at Cubberley Community Center. CALENDAR: Next PAC Regular Meeting – November 17, 7 pm (hybrid) at City Hall Community Meeting Room. MEETING ADJOURNED: at 8:23 pm by Chair Taylor.