HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-01-17 Public Art Commission Agenda Packet
IS POSTED IN ACCORDANCE
WITH GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION
54954.2(a) OR SECTION 54956
PUBLIC ART COMMISSION
Jim Migdal, Chair
Ian Klaus, Member Ben Miyaji, Vice-Chair Amanda Ross, Member
Hsinya Shen, Member Nia Taylor, Member Loren Gordon, Member
City Council Liaison: Mayor Liz Kniss
Elise DeMarzo: Public Art Program Director Nadya Chuprina: Public Art Program Coordinator
http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/publicart
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Community Meeting Room
Palo Alto City Hall
7:00 p.m.
AGENDA
ROLL CALL
AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
(Members of the public are invited to address the commission on any subject not on the agenda. A reasonable time
restriction may be imposed at the discretion of the Chair. Materials related to an item on this agenda submitted to
the Public Art Commission after distribution of the agenda packet are available for public inspection in the City
Hall Council Chambers during normal business hour.)
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: PAC Regular Meeting – December 20, 2018 ATTACHMENT
STAFF COMMENTS
ACTION:
1. Election of Officers- Election of Chair and Vice Chair of the Public Art Commission.
2. Mobile App for the Public Art Collection – Staff reports on the outcomes of the Mobile app trial
and recommends the allocation of funds up to $1,495 per year to expand the mobile experience
for the entire collection.
3. Approval of Temporary Public Art Installations at King Plaza - Staff recommends the approval of
upcoming temporary art installations on King Plaza and the allocation of funds in the amount of
$40,000.
NON-ACTION:
4. The Baylands Artist-in-Residence - Review and discussion of the Baylands Comprehensive
Conservation Plan (BCCP) Public Art Overlay. ATTACHMENT
5. Update on the Status of Frequencies sculpture by Barbara Grygutis – Staff to give a brief update
on the status of the project.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
FOR YOUR CALENDAR: Next PAC Regular Meeting –February 21, 2019 at 7 p.m.
MINUTES
PUBLIC ART COMMISSION
MEETING
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Palo Alto City Hall
Community Meeting Room
7:00 p.m.
Commissioners Present: Ben Miyaji, Nia Taylor, Ian Klaus, Jim Migdal, Loren
Gordon
Commissioners Absent: Amanda Ross, Hsinya Shen
Staff Present: Elise DeMarzo, Public Art Program Director
Nadya Chuprina, Public Art Program Coordinator
Monique leConge Ziesenhenne, Director of Library &
Community Services
CALL TO ORDER: Chair Migdal called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS – None.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS – None
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: November 15, 2018 PAC Meeting Minutes Moved: Vice Chair Miyaji;
Second: Commissioner Klaus. All in favor. Jim Migdal abstained.
STAFF COMMENTS: Staff announced upcoming installations of artworks for Fire Station 3 and
Avenidas scheduled for early January 2019. Staff also announced an upcoming Bioblitz event at Byxbee
Park on January 13 at 11 am followed by a public presentation by Watershed Sculpture artists at the
Grassroots Ecology event at 2 pm. Staff extended an invitation to the Cubberley Artists’ reception taking
place on January 24 featuring most recent gifts of artworks to the City’s public art collection at the Palo
Alto Art Center. Staff also announced an upcoming artist talk featuring Jim Campbell and Barbara
Goldstein at Montalvo Arts Center on February 20.
ACTION:
1. Public Presentation and Approval of Public Artworks for the Public Safety Building – Staff
provided an overview of the PSB project including the project goals and timeline, artist
selection process, stakeholders and community input, research by selected artist Peter
Wegner, and community takeaways that helped to inform the design development for
public artworks. Pending PAC approval, the artist will move forward to the detailed design phase
and enter into a fabrication and installation contract for the proposed artworks. Artist Peter
Wegner then presented concepts for a suite of four artworks. Two artworks proposed for the
lobby that are closely influenced by the artist’s time with the staff of the departments at the PSB
and the work they do, one artwork on the exterior façade of the PSB that links the work
performed inside the building with the community, and a large exterior LED piece on the
recessed corner of the upcoming parking structure across Birch street from the PSB that reflects
the Cal Ave community and relates to the other works. The works at the PSB site are in the color
palette identified with the emergency responders, the artwork at the garage will incorporate that
palette and more colors reflecting the broader Cal Ave community. Artist’s presentation was
interrupted by fire alarm at 8:05. Meeting was resumed at 8:16. Community member Shannon
Rose McEntee addressed the Commissioners to express her concerns regarding the proposed
concept for the LED piece, including its overall scale and costs associated with its maintenance,
power draw and light pollution. Public Art staff addressed questions regarding the materials to be
used for the artworks and clarified that a detailed maintenance plan will be part of the artist
agreement. Staff clarified that funds for that maintenance of all four artworks will be set aside as
part of the commissioning process out of the 1% for public art budget. Commissioners
commended the proposed concepts discussed the need for interpretive onsite signage for future
artworks. Commissioners also requested that staff provides more detailed information on the
lifespan and maintenance costs associate with eth LED piece as the artist makes further progress
with his design development. Staff recommended the approval of concepts for the suite of four
artworks. Moved: Commissioner Migdal moved to approve concepts for four public artworks by
artist Peter Wegner. Second: Vice Chair Miyaji. All in Favor.
2. Reallocation of Funds – Chair Midgal led the discussion about the PAC’s consideration to
reallocate funds from the University Avenue Project. Chair Migdal provided summary of the
University Ave Tunnel project and moved to approve reallocation of earmarked funds. Moved:
Chair Migdal. Second: Vice Chair Miyaji. All in Favor.
3. Allocation of Funds for Cubberley Stock by Lexa Walsh – Staff provided an overview of artist
Lexa Walsh’s Cubberley Stock proposal. A micro-granting dinner event, Cubberley stock will
support local artists’ project to animate Cubberley. Diners pay a small dinner fee, enjoy their
meals and listen to artists’ proposals that need funding. The diners vote on their favorite project to
support and the winning artist takes the money to use for their work. PAP had not succeeded in
securing the grant from the NEA to fund this temporary public art project and others envisioned
to animate Cubberley. Staff recommended that PAC allocate funding in the amount of $2,500 to
support Lexa Walsh’s project. Moved: Vice Chair Miyaji; Second: Chair Migdal. All in Favor.
ANNOUNCEMENTS – None.
CALENDAR: Next PAC Regular Meeting – January 17, 2019 at 7 pm.
MEETING ADJOURNED at 8:53 PM by Chair Migdal.
City of Palo Alto Staff Report to Public Art Commission
January 9, 2019
Recommendation:
Staff requests that the Public Art Commission give input on the draft Baylands Comprehensive
Conservation Plan Public Art overlay created by Watershed Sculpture artists Mary O’Brien and Daniel
McCormick. No formal action is requested at this time.
Background:
The Public Art Master Plan identified the creation of a public art plan for the Embarcadero corridor east
of the 101 as a short term priority (1-2 years after adoption). With a number of future private
development projects taking place in that corridor that will be subject to the private percent for art
requirement, public art staff and the master plan consultants recommend a proactive approach to
creating a vision for appropriate types of artwork along the Embarcadero corridor and in the Baylands
that might be funded through in-lieu contributions, rather than potentially having multiple stand-alone
artworks installed with each redevelopment. Shortly after the approval of the Public Art Master Plan,
Public Art staff became aware of an upcoming opportunity through Parks & Open Space to participate in
the development of the Baylands Comprehensive Conservation Plan (BCCP).
The BCCP is:
• A comprehensive plan for holistically managing the City of Palo Alto’s 1,976.5 acre Baylands
Preserve for the next 15 years and beyond;
• An ecosystem-based approach that strives to balance resource protection, environmental
education, and passive and active recreational use;
• Takes future projects and current trends such as sea level rise and climate change into account;
• Includes site-specific planning aspects for the former ITT property and Byxbee Park.
Public Art staff and Parks & Open Space staff collaborated on language for the call for consultants to
create the Baylands Comprehensive Conservation Plan (BCCP) to include the identification of placement
and types of public art engagement that might be appropriate in the Baylands, thus preventing two
separate planning initiatives engaging the Baylands stakeholders. Parks staff launched a call for
consultants in 2016 to create the BCCP, and identified AECOM as the consultant for the project.
Public Art staff launched a call for an artist team to work with the community and stakeholders at the
Baylands to:
1- Help broaden Baylands stakeholders’ and the public’s understanding of the definitions of public
art, especially through a social practice / environmental focus.
2- Engage the public in a temporary artmaking process that is aligned with the programming and
educational initiatives of the Baylands.
3- Collaborate with AECOM and City staff to gather appropriate input and feedback at these
engagement events with the community to ensure that the public art element of the BCCP
captures the feedback from the stakeholders and adequately explored the many options
available throughout the site.
On January 18, 2018, the PAC approved the allocation of $10,000 for the artist in residence for the
Baylands and the public art overlay, and staff launched a request for qualifications for artists. On May
17, 2018, the Public Art Commission approved artists Mary O’Brien and Daniel McCormick to create the
public art overlay for the BCCP and engage the public in an art making temporary project in the
Baylands. Working closely with Public Art and Open Space staff, it was determined that the proposal for
Foraging Islands best aligned with existing initiatives at the site and offered the opportunity to engage a
broad group of stakeholders in the art-making process. On August 9, 2018, the Public Art Commission
approved the artists’ proposal to create a Foraging Island at the Baylands.
Discussion:
Foraging Island was created from woody debris harvested from the Baylands and surrounding area. The
sculptural form is intended to create a habitat for small insects, voles, and other small creatures that
may attract the burrowing owl, hawks, and other desirable animals to Byxbee Park. Over the course of
nine volunteer shifts in September, the public was invited to work alongside the artists creating the
artwork, offering ample opportunity for volunteers and visitors to talk to the artists, raise questions
about the piece and the overlay, and provide feedback to help inform the overlay.
Nearly 200 volunteer hours went into creating of the final piece, and public art staff and the artists
gathered information from volunteers and visitors about the Baylands, how they travel there, what
makes it special, and what they might like to see there. Volunteers from Environmental Volunteers,
Grassroots Ecology, the Parks and Recreation Commission, and the Water Quality Control Plant came to
work on the installation as well as volunteers who have worked on previous art installations, but had
limited knowledge about the Baylands. There were several families who came to work on the project as
well.
The feedback on Foraging Island was extremely positive – even from visitors who were initially skeptical.
There were quite a few requests to build more of these foraging islands to help attract certain wildlife to
Byxbee Park. Many regular users of the trails said they appreciated seeing something new appear and
looked forward to keeping an eye out for wildlife attracted to the sculpture. They also shared their
favorite animal sightings, activities, and locations in the Baylands. This input helped inform the overlay
generated by the artists.
Since the installation of the Foraging Island, there have been four burrowing owl sightings near the
sculpture. There is a bioblitz scheduled for the sculpture Sunday, January 13th at 11:00 to document
what prey species may now be inhabiting the sculpture. Public Art and Open Space staff will be working
together to monitor the sculpture and any wildlife sightings.
Feedback from BCCP stakeholders in December and early January prompted three responses. Those
responses can be summarized by the following:
• Concerns regarding the impact that future art installations might have on wildlife, either by
physical placement or use of light;
• A lack of understanding of the “problem” the overlay seeks to solve;
• Concerns that future installations may interfere with the natural beauty of the environment.
Staff plans to ensure that additional language is added to the overlay to alleviate the concerns raised by
the BCCP stakeholders. Mary O’Brien and Daniel McCormick have worked closely with staff on drafts of
the public art overlay and have been extremely responsive to input from stakeholders and staff. It is
important to keep in mind that the overlay is intended to be a menu of options for future consideration
rather than seen as a checklist of definite projects. The suggestions in the overlay are only intended to
call out potential placement and types of work, but not intended to dictate the exact works. Should
staff recommend funding a particular site and opportunity through in-lieu contributions, artists will
either be sourced from the prequalified pool or there will be an open call for artists. Any future
artworks will require vetting through appropriate departments, commissions, and regulatory agencies.
Timeline:
Feedback gathered from the PAC and BCCP stakeholders will be incorporated into the next draft of the
public art overlay to the BCCP. The overlay will be an attachment to the BCCP, and will be presented to
Parks and Recreation Commission and the City Council this spring. The BCCP is expected to be finalized
in March 2019.
Public Art at the Baylands
An Overlay to the
Palo Alto Baylands Comprehensive Conservation Plan, 2018
Daniel McCormick & Mary O’Brien, 2018 Artists-in-Residence, City of Palo Alto
Created with Palo Alto Public Art Program, Elise DeMarzo, Director; Palo Alto Open Space, Parks & Golf, Daren
Anderson, Division Manager; AECOM, Sacramento, CA
BCCP Public Art Overlay 2019 Page 15
INTRODUCTION
This is a public art overlay to the Palo Alto Baylands
Natural Preserve (Baylands) Comprehensive Conserva-
tion Plan 2018 (BCCP) in accordance with the City of
Palo Alto (the City) Public Art Master Plan (PAMP) 2016.
The BCCP addresses future management of the
Baylands and is a framework for managing the Bay-
lands during the next 15 years and beyond.
This report offers themes and identifies potential
sites appropriate for public art that are ecologically
and/or educationally beneficial, and which minimize
disturbances to natural areas of the Baylands.i
This document identifies opportunities and poten-
tial sites for ecological, environmental, and social prac-
tice art at the Baylands. It provides guidance on how the
Baylands could become an arts area for works, perfor-
mances, and events that complement the ongoing
conservation and sustainability efforts at the Baylands.
Concept drawing: ecological, environmental, and social practice opportunities on Embarcadero Road (looking south)
BCCP Public Art Overlay 2019 Page 15
A HISTORY OF ADAPTATIONS
The Baylands is approximately 2,000 acres of var-
ied environments, purposes, and uses. Nature, recrea-
tion, and reclamation merge against a backdrop of
commercial corridors and Highway 101.
Much of area that is now the Baylands was altered
in the 20th Century. The marshes extended west to
nearly the 101 freeway. They were filled, and the land
became farms, a landfill, a yacht harbor, and the site of
a pioneering marine radio operation.
Byxbee Park, surrounded by a restored landscape
of fresh and salt water marshes, was once a landfill. The
Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQC) releases
treated water into the Baylands and monitors and cap-
tures the leachate and methane piped off Byxbee Park.
Trails connect to the shorelines of Mountain View and
East Palo Alto. The Baylands contains the longest unin-
terrupted stretch of San Francisco Bay Trail separated
from streets.
Home to both native and non-native flora and
fauna, the Baylands shoreline is dense with native eel
grass and pickle weed. The endangered salt marsh har-
vest mouse lives here. Burrowing owls and grey fox have
been seen in the Baylands. Irrigated and non-irrigated
landscaped areas also characterize the Baylands.
The restored 1941 ship-shaped Environmental Vol-
unteers headquarters and the Lucy Evans Baylands In-
terpretative Nature Center (Lucy Evans Center) provide
1862 Allardt map of Palo Alto Baylands
BCCP Public Art Overlay 2019 Page 15
educational and environmental outreach for children
and adults. An artist-in-residence based at either loca-
tion would be compatible with goals of these organiza-
tions and the Baylands at-large.
In 1990, the artist team of Peter Richards and Mi-
chael Oppenheimer created several environmental
works in Byxbee Park. Three of these are still in place at
the Baylands—Pole Field, Chevrons, and Wind Wave.
Other existing public art at the Baylands include Forag-
ing Island by Daniel McCormick and Mary O’Brien in
Byxbee Park, Birdie by Joyce Hsu, and KaikooV by Betty
Gold on Embarcadero Road, Currents and Riding the
Currents, by Martin Webb at the Regional Water Quality
Control Plant, Streaming by Ceevah Sobel, and Bliss in
the Moment by James Moore, on East Bayshore Road.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Community members are engaged, and volun-
teerism is high at the Baylands. A 2018 survey of visitors to
the Baylandsii confirmed that a diverse community en-
joys the Baylands. The respondents highly valued the
natural communities and environments of the park.
In 2018, the Palo Alto Public Art Program commis-
sioned San Francisco Bay Area artist team Daniel
McCormick and Mary O’Brien as artists-in-residence at
the Baylands. Sixty-nine community volunteers ranging in
age from 6 to 90, donated a total of 189 hours to help
the artists create the wildlife-friendly Foraging Island in
Byxbee Park. Feedback from volunteers recognized art
Public Art at the Baylands dates to 1990: Chevrons, Richards &
Oppenheimer
Foraging Island, by Daniel McCormick & Mary O’Brien in
Byxbee Park. This ephemeral sculpture was designed to help
re-establish habitat for burrowing owls, white-tailed kites, and
a variety of hawks.
BCCP Public Art Overlay 2019 Page 15
in the Baylands as a viable process that can inform the
public on ecological practices and other topics relevant
to the Baylands.
Several informed groups and site experts were in-
volved, including a stakeholder group consisting of area
residents and experts as diverse as the many interests this
public space serves.
An energized and capable volunteer base from
local organizations Save the Bay (with a native plant
nursery at the Baylands), Environmental Volunteers, and
Grassroots Ecology, as well as neighbors and individuals
from nearby businesses, also assisted the artists.
The artists’ research for their installation became
the foundation for this overlay to the BCCP.
Volunteers working with artists on Foraging Island
BCCP Public Art Overlay 2019 Page 15
SITE CONSIDERATIONS
Various conditions affect the development of art
at the Baylands, including an emphasis on maintaining
a natural environment. “Palo Alto residents value the
natural environment more than almost any other char-
acteristic of their city.”iii
Artists work closely with City departments and
stakeholders throughout the planning process. Art instal-
lations at the Baylands are developed with careful con-
sideration of several factors: various ecotones, wildlife
communities, natural environments, as well as human
uses. Other considerations include bird migration and
nesting seasons, and the ecological needs of the salt
marsh harvest mouse.
Artists working in the Baylands coordinate their
plans closely with City departments that interact with the
Baylands, include the Public Art Program, Parks & Open
Space, and Public Works. City staff provide logistical sup-
port for projects involving community volunteers. All art
interactions are reviewed by the Public Art Program staff
and key members of other City departments and com-
missions.
Best Management Practices are developed for
the goals outlined in the BCCP and the PAMP, including
the recommendation to use “art to promote environ-
mental stewardship and sustainability”.iv Information on
the processes that keep the Baylands sustainable and
other areas of research are available from the City.
Palo Alto Parks and Recreation Provided Map:
Suggested areas for Foraging Island (white)
Artist’s installation site (orange)
Burrowing owl sightings (green arrows)
Eliminated sites—regrading (red)
Sections of Byxbee Park are regularly regraded.
BCCP Public Art Overlay 2019 Page 15
PUBLIC ART THEMES AT THE BAYLANDS
Public Art in Palo Alto reflects the City’s “people,
diverse neighborhoods, the innovative and global
character of its businesses and academic institutions,
and the beauty of its natural environments”.v
The Baylands is well suited for work from artists that
explore and promote local sustainability practices. Its
many environments are appropriate for both temporary
and permanent ecological, environmental, and social
practice art that is suitable for developed, isolated, and
semi-wild spaces. Successful projects will reveal the nat-
ural, recreational, and civic processes at the Baylands.
ECOLOGICAL ART
Ecological art works with the sustainable pro-
cesses present at the Baylands. These opportunities in-
clude:
• habitat enhancement projects
• permaculture and xeriscape landscaping
• endangered species protection
• invasive species control projects
• trail and creek erosion remediation
• climate visualizations
• responses to sea level rise--horizontal levees and
native oyster reefs
• earthworks
• educational outreach projects
Sites for temporary and permanent art in the Baylands:
Ecological (green) Environmental (red) Social Practice (orange)
Embarcadero Rd Embarcadero Rd Embarcadero Rd
Lucy Evans Center Sailing Station lot Sailing Station lot
Byxbee Hills Lucy Evans Center E-Volunteers
SF Bay Trail SF Bay Trail Lucy Evans Center
ITT Trails RWQC SF Bay Trail
Household Haz Waste Byxbee Trails/Overlooks Duck Pond
RWQC Entrance & E Bayshore
BCCP Public Art Overlay 2019 Page 15
• inquiries into the processes at RWCQ and House-
hold Hazardous Waste Station
POTENTIAL SITES FOR ECOLOGICAL ART
• vegetated islands, rock swales, creeks, and drain-
age systems in Byxbee Park
• newly regraded portions of Byxbee Park hills
• adjacent to trails at ITT parcel and the San Fran-
cisco Bay Trail
• adjacent to the Environmental Volunteers building
• deck and boardwalk at Lucy Evans Center
• the perimeters of the RWCQ and the Household
Hazardous Waste station
ECOLOGICAL ART ALONG EMBARCADERO ROAD
Ecological art can also help bring focus to the
Baylands entrance, add visual continuity to the com-
mercial and pedestrian uses, and become a gateway
to the park.
Embarcadero Road offers possibilities for green in-
frastructure projects and creating a transition from the
commercial corridor to the Baylands entrance. These
opportunities include:
• a multi-objective green wall and earthworks
• green open spaces and pathways
• alcoves and small cooling stations
• solar light elements
Ecological and
environmental art
in the green
space
Road bend is
first visual of
Baylands
entrance
Baylands
entrance
Ground works and ecological interven-
tions unify existing elements on Embar-
cadero Road through artist designed
bioswales, labyrinths, cooling stations,
seating, and viewing spots.
BCCP Public Art Overlay 2019 Page 15
ENVIRONMENTAL ART
Environmental artworks use durable materials and
help to inspire, inform, and educate visitors to the
natural and mechanical processes of the Baylands.
Sculptures that are temporary or permanent can
symbolize, interpret, and document the process and
the uses of the Baylands. These opportunities include:
• traffic calming designs for crosswalks on Embar-
cadero Road and the bike/pedestrian entries
• bike racks and benches
• listening stations, audio tours, and closed-circuit
radio broadcasts.
• viewing stations and wayfinding sculptures that
connect view corridors and help visitors travel
through the Baylands
• earthworks that serve as an informal amphithea-
ter, stage, and outdoor classroom at the sailing
station parking lot
• works reflecting natural and human processes—
bird migration and nesting activities, changes to
the land forms, histories of human uses, sea level
rise, and changes in the San Francisco Bay and
local creeks
• interpretative and educational sculptures, or
sound art experiences in kiosks, shoulders of
roads, and at the Baylands entrance
• available sculptures on a revolving basis
Embarcadero Road curves to the south before the entrance to
the Baylands. Identifiers for the Baylands are not visible until the
visitor reaches the curve.
Low undulating horizontal elements, such as earthworks and a
low wall, work with the existing vertical elements (trees, lights,
transmission towers) and lend focus to the Baylands entrance.
Embarcadero Road
Commercial District
Baylands
entrance
BCCP Public Art Overlay 2019 Page 15
• expressions of visual patterns: Morse code, ma-
rine flags, tidal actions, Byxbee pipelines, rock
drainage swales, electric transmission towers
• inquiries into waste-water treatment and moni-
toring systems at the Regional Water Quality
Control Plant (RWQC).
POTENTIAL SITES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ART
• Lucy Evans Center
• Byxbee Park trails, overlooks, and bench areas
• near habitat islands, rock swales, and creeks
• the parking island at the sailing station
• land bordering the RWQC plant
• marsh shores, E-Volunteers property
• Baylands main entrance
• bike and pedestrian entrances
Artist deigned crosswalks, bike paths, and entry reflect
patterns, concepts, and sustainability goals of Baylands,
BCCP Public Art Overlay 2019 Page 15
ENVIRONMENTAL ART ALONG EMBARCADERO ROAD
Environmental art can contribute to the “gate-
way” effect along Embarcadero Road and draw visitors
towards the entrance. These opportunities include:
• traffic calming solutions at pedestrian crosswalks
• temporary performance spaces
• environmental sculptures
Embarcadero Road
Embarcadero Road green spaces become settings for temporary art experiences, ecological installations, environmental art,
and moveable performances.
BCCP Public Art Overlay 2019 Page 15
SOCIAL PRACTICE ART
Art that relies on human interactions and social
discourse with the community is appropriate in several
places at the Baylands. For visual artists, performers,
and poets/writers who conduct research and create
interpretative, educational, and cultural works, these
opportunities include:
• conceptualizations of the history, current-day
monitoring processes, use patterns, and evolv-
ing changes to Baylands ecology
• documentations of human use, sustainability ef-
forts, and adjustments to Baylands ecology
• audio and augmented reality interpretations
• community cultural celebrations, events, and
moveable performances.
• solar light festivals
• human powered vehicle/vessel celebrations
• street painting (chalk art)
• night sky viewing events
• art that focuses on wind, tides, and sea levels
The Lucy Evans Baylands Interpretative Nature Cen-
ter has facilities that an artist-in-residence could in-
corporate into community outreach projects.
BCCP Public Art Overlay 2019 Page 15
POTENTIAL SITES FOR ART INTERACTION AND ENGAGEMENT
• the parking lot island at the sailing station
• Lucy Evans Center and Environmental Volunteers
• trails, overlooks, and benches
• San Francisco Bay Trail and connections (bridges,
bike/pedestrian entries)
• duck pond and picnic areas
SOCIAL PRACTICE ART ALONG EMBARCADERO ROAD
Embarcadero Road bridges several cultural as-
pects of the Baylands of interest to social practice artists,
including:
• the new and historic
• built and natural environments
• the physical gateway to the park
• ecological interventions
• performances
CONCLUSION
The Baylands offers a great diversity of locations
where artwork may be appropriate—naturalized areas,
recreational and municipal facilities, open space areas
along Embarcadero Road, and other previously devel-
oped areas.
The parking lot island and the sailing station
become sites for social practice art and
celebrations.
Sailing station—
celebrations on water
Parking Island—
performance and
gathering space
BCCP Public Art Overlay 2019 Page 15
REFERENCES
Byxbee Park Hills Interim Park Concepts, Oasis Associates, 2015
Byxbee Park Hills Conceptual Landscape Plan and Narrative, Oasis Associates, 2015
Byxbee Park Master Plan, Hargreaves Associates, 1989
California Historical Society, (californiahistoricalsociety.org)
City of Palo Alto, Historic Preservation, (cityofpaloalto.org/gov/depts/pln/historic_preservation/his-
tory_of_palo_alto.asp)
City of Palo Alto Public Art Master Plan, (PAMP) 2017
Palo Alto Baylands Comprehensive Conservation Plan, (BCCP), AECOM, 2018
Palo Alto Historical Association, (pahistory.org)
Palo Alto History.org (paloaltohistory.org)
Picture This: California Perspectives of American History, Oakland Museum of California
San Francisco Bay Subtidal Habitat Goals Report, 50-Year Conservation Plan, 2010
State of California, The Resources Agency, Department of Parks and Recreation
BCCP Public Art Overlay 2019 Page 15
FOOTNOTES
i Baylands Comprehensive Conservation Plan (BCCP) Vision, Goals, Objectives, June 2018.
ii Baylands Comprehensive Conservation Plan, 2018, Summary of Baylands User Survey Responses Administered
by Baylands Rangers, April & May 2018.
iii Palo Alto Public Art Master Plan, 2016, page 13.
iv Palo Alto Public Art Master Plan 2016, page 26.
v Palo Alto Public Art Master Plan 2016, Vision Statement, page 2.