HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-11-20 Public Art Commission Summary Minutes
IS POSTED IN ACCORDANCE
WITH GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION
54954.2(a) OR SECTION 54956
PUBLIC ART COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
Thursday, November 20, 2025
Community Meeting Room & Virtual
7:00 p.m.
Commissioners Participating: Hsinya Shen, Harriet Stern, Amber Smith, Tara de la Garza,
Robin Mullery, Simon Tran, Anjana Joshi
Commissioners Absent: None
City Council Participating: Vicki Veenker, Vice Mayor
Staff Present: Elise DeMarzo, Public Art Program Director, CSD
Nadya Chuprina, Public Art Program Coordinator, CSD
Amanda Deml, Assistant Director, CSD
CALL TO ORDER –Chair Shen called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS – None.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS – Community member Amber Weaver addressed the Commission
proposing an art initiative along Alma St.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES – September 18, 2025 PAC Regular Meeting Minutes: Moved by Chair
Shen Second by Commissioner de la Garza; All in Favor.
STAFF COMMENTS –Staff reported on recently completed maintenance treatments for two permanently
installed public artworks: Albuquerque by artist Gale Wagner on Embarcadero Road was completely
repainted, and After the Fire by late Bruce Johnson was cleaned, repaired, and re-oiled. Staff also
announced recent opening of the Palo Alto Public Safety Building with three site -specific public artworks
by artist Peter Wegner integrated into the building, one on the building’s exterior façade wall, and the
other two permanently installed in the lobby.
ACTION:
1. Public Art in Private Development – Project team of Jamie Jarvis with Stanford University,
Danielle Wohl with Danielle Wohl Art Advisory, Heather Young with Heather Young Architects,
and Daniel Canogar, the project artist presented a final public art plan for 975 Page Mill Road to
the PAC. The team presented the development project’s vision and goals, provided an overview
of the site’s floor plan and intended uses. Artist Daniel Canogar was selected to create a site-
specific, generative, new media artwork to be placed in the public lobby of the building. The
artwork to be shown on an 80” x 143” display screen. Conceptually, the artwork will explore the
entrepreneurial ecosystems of Stanford Research Park, creating an ever-changing generative
animation and shifting through groups of three colors, each representing a key component of the
innovation ecosystem, based on inputs from Stanford University science and engineering research
publications. Based on the revised estimated budget, the public art allocation for the project is
$136,000. Estimated timeline for installing the artwork is early 2027. Based on the provided
presentation, commissioners asked some follow-up questions about the team’s considerations
about the artwork’s expected lifespan and required maintenance. The application team stated that
the piece will be designed to last for decades and will be supported through the funds from the
building’s maintenance operations budget. The applicant team also confirmed that the artwork
will be available to the public at least 40 hours a week and will include appropriate art plaque and
information onsite. Motion: Commissioner de la Garza moved to approve the final public art in
private development plan associated with project at 975 Page Mill Road. Second: Chair Shen. All
in Favor.
2. Acceptance of Donation of Artwork – Staff presented the conceptual description and digital
image of artwork titled Bolted by former CASP artist Kiana Honarmand, offered by the artist to
the City in accordance with the Cubberley Artist Studio Program (CASP) agreement. The offered
artwork, a hand-cut and woven giclee print from the artist’s Tapestry of Remembrance series.
Motion: Commissioner Stern moved to accept the donation of artwork to the City’s public art
collection. Second: Commissioner Mullery. All in Favor.
NON-ACTION
3. Code:ART 2025 – Staff provided an informational presentation to the PAC reporting on the
attendance and preliminary economic impact metrics associated with the Code:ART interactive
media festival. Based on the data gathered during Oct 16-25, staff estimates that approximately
25,000 attended Code:ART during the first three nights of the festival and additional 2,000
coming to see projection mappings Oct 19-25. Staff also surveyed 291 visitors to gather metrics
on the festival goers’ experiences and spending during the festival. Out of 291 responders
approximately 75% rated their experience as best and confirmed that they came out specifically
for Code:ART. Approximately 75% visited local downtown business. 42% made a purchase for
$50 or less and 25% spent between $51-$150 and about 13% spent over $150 during their visit.
99% of responders answered that they wanted to see more events like this in Palo Alto. The
survey also measured emotional impact: almost half of the responders shared that they had a
conversation or interacted with someone they did not know. Staff also shared that participating
local merchants saw an increase in customers and boost in sales. Staff thanked all the Public Art
Commissioners who volunteered during Code:ART and contributed to the event’s success.
COMMISSIONER QUESTIONS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, OR FUTURE ITEMS: Staff announced the
dates for an upcoming Let’s Glow art festival in San Francisco Dec 5-14, and also announced that based
on the Commissioners’ responses, the tentative date for the PAC annual retreat is January 24, 9 am – 1
pm.
CALENDAR: PAC Regular Meeting – December 18, 2025, at 7 pm.
MEETING ADJOURNED: at 8:16 pm by Chair Shen.