Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-01-15 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, January 15, 2026 Community Meeting Room & Virtual 7:00 p.m. Commissioners Participating: Hsinya Shen, Tara de la Garza, Robin Mullery, Simon Tran, Harriet Stern, Amber Smith Commissioners Absent: Anjana Joshi City Council Participating: Vicki Veenker (joined at 7:03 pm) 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 – None APPROVAL OF MINUTES – December 18, 2025 PAC Regular Meeting Minutes: Moved by Commissioner de la Garza Second by Commissioner Mullery. All in Favor. STAFF COMMENTS –Staff announced upcoming dates for two new murals to be painted in downtown Palo Alto: Mona Caron will start painting her mural at the site of MAC’S smoke shop on January 19 and artist Nigel Sussman will also start painting his mural at Pacific Art League on Jan 25. Staff also updated the Commissioners on the ongoing application process for the ArtLift Grant program with applications due on February 20. ACTION: 1. Election of Officers – Chair Shen explained the general duties and responsibilities of the Chair to the Commissioners and opened the floor to nominations for the position of the PAC Chair. Commissioner Mullery nominated current Chair Shen for the position of Chair in 2026. Chair Shen accepted. No other nominations followed. Motion: Commissioner Stern moved to close nominations. Second: Commissioner Mullery. All in Favor. Chair Shen was unanimously elected as the new PAC Chair. Chair Shen then provided an overview of the responsibilities of the Vice Chair position and opened the floor to the nominations. Commissioner de la Garza nominated Commissioner Stern for the position of Vice Chair. Commissioner Stern accepted the nomination. No other nominations followed. Motion: Commissioner de la Garza moved to close the nominations. Second: Commissioner Mullery. All in Favor. Commissioner Stern was unanimously elected as the new PAC Vice Chair. 2. Deaccession of Artwork – Staff provided an overview of commissioning process, conceptual development, physical build, and maintenance history and challenges of the digital media artwork titled Conversation by Susan Narduli installed at the Palo Alto City Hall lobby. The artwork was commissioned through a percent for art allocation as part of the city hall renovation project in 2014. Conversation was installed and unveiled in early 2016 on a video wall supplied and installed by the city as part of the renovation project, integrated into an entrance facing wall in the lobby. The video monitors displaying the artwork were also utilized on a set weekly schedule to display city content. The artwork was recognized in 2017 by the Americans for the Arts by the Public Art Network Year in Review as one of the most notable recent public art projects. Staff provided an overview of various challenges with displaying Conversation, and its behavior observed and addressed over time. Some technical challenges were based on issues with monitor connectivity and the monitors themselves, others on the settings switching between City mode and the Art mode. The Public Art team worked closely with the artist team to resolve hardware issues. Despite collaborative efforts with Narduli Studio to implement fixes and updates, the artwork’s aging code and obsolete hardware have made it increasingly difficult to maintain functionality and preserve artistic intent. Staff and Narduli Studio acknowledged the artwork’s increasing instability and obsolete equipment. With no viable replacements for the monitors and the likelihood of needing a full video wall redesign in the near future, staff initiated the deaccession evaluation process. In September 2025, PAC approved initiating the deaccession review process based on the deaccession criteria outlined in the Deaccession of Artwork Policy. The PAC unanimously approved that staff proceed with a deaccession evaluation process. Staff then notified artist Susan Narduli about the Commission’s decision referencing applicable conditions of the artwork and providing reasons for the deaccession review. Staff received no public input regarding the City’s consideration to deaccession the artwork. Should the Public Art Commission approve deaccession of the digital media artwork installed in the City Hall lobby, staff will immediately notify the artist about the PAC’s motion and release public notice in compliance with state and federal notice requirements. Staff will coordinate the removal of the art computer units offsite, in accordance with the City’s deaccession policy and offer them to the artist. The bank of monitors will remain in the lobby. Motion: Vice Chair Stern moved to formally deaccession Conversation by Susan Narduli from the City’s permanent collection of public art. Second: Commissioner Tran. All in Favor. NON-ACTION: 3. PAC Annual Retreat and Workplan Discussion – Chair Shen provided an overview of the most recent PAC workplan adopted by the Commission in 2025, including the PAC adopted priorities, highlighted previously completed projects, and a list of ongoing and pre-approved projects and working goals. The updated work plan for 2026/27 will be drafted by the PAC Chair and Vice Chair in collaboration with staff and shared with the PAC at the Annual Retreat on February 10 for the Commissioners’ review and input. Based on the PAC’s input, the finalized plan draft will be presented for the PAC final review and approval at the PAC Special Meeting on February 12. PAC Chair will be presenting the adopted workplan at the City Council meeting on April 6. COMMISSIONER QUESTIONS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, OR FUTURE ITEMS: Council Liaison Vicki Veenker addressed the Commissioners to thank them for their work and the achievements in 2025 and announced that this is her last PAC meeting as the Council Liaison. Staff confirmed the date for the PAC Annual Retreat scheduled for Tuesday, February 10, 5-9 pm at the Palo Alto Art Center. CALENDAR: PAC Special Meeting – February 12, 2026, at 7 pm. PAC Regular Meeting on February 19 has been canceled. MEETING ADJOURNED: at 7:50 pm by Chair Shen.