TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Mark Leyman, Parks and Recreation Director
Martin Betz, Cultural Arts Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Public Art Trust Fund Update and Request to Allocate $168,000 Towards Public Art Projects (Parks and Recreation Director Leyman).
DISCUSS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss and provide direction as to the allocation of $168,000 towards public art projects
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The current balance of the Public Arts Trust Fund as of August 31, 2017 is $672,154. If the City Council approves the proposed items, the total appropriation would be $168,000, leaving a balance of $504,154.
BACKGROUND:
On May 21, 2002, the City Council approved the Art in Public Places Master Plan (Attachment 1). The Master Plan established “goals and criteria for the acquisition of art work” and defines a number of terms, including “Public Place” and “Public Art.” “Public Place” is defined as “any exterior area of public or private property which is easily accessible and clearly visible to the general public and clearly visible from adjacent public property such as a street or other public thoroughfare, sidewalk, public beaches and parks.”
“Public Art” includes but is not limited to: commemorative art; monuments; permanent works of art (sculpture, murals, paintings, earthworks, neon, glass, organic materials, mosaics, photographs, collages, prints, literary arts, calligraphy, media, or hybrids of media); and temporary works of art (exhibits, visual and performing arts, public appearances by artists, performance events, festivals, concerts and arts education programs).
On November 19, 2002, the City Council established the Public Arts Trust Fund when it adopted Ordinance No. 2040 (Attachment 2) to provide a funding mechanism for:
1. Acquisition of works of arts to be placed in public places or in public buildings
2. Art education programs
3. Art display programs
The Ordinance requires that the works of art be designated by the Cultural Arts Commission and approved or accepted by the City Council, and allows that 20% of the fund can be allocated to administrative costs. Public Art Trust Fund proceeds have been used for, among other projects: The Sculpture Garden, the Centennial Sculpture project (Light Gate), the Library sculpture project collaboration, exhibitions at the Art Center, and the Strand Stairs Rehabilitation Project. The Ordinance provides that fees which are not committed to a specific project within five years of actual receipt shall be returned.
DISCUSSION:
As part of the City Council work plan for the Cultural Arts Commission, the Commission has discussed the use of the Public Art Trust Fund and has designated the following projects for City Council consideration:
1. Sculpture Garden. $38,000
As part of the City’s 2002 Work Plan, City Council directed the Cultural Arts Commission to begin research and create a proposal for an Outdoor Sculpture Garden. The artworks contained in the Sculpture Garden would rotate on an annual or semi-annual basis. The purpose of the Sculpture Garden is to display a variety of public artwork in a community setting that prompt the viewer through thoughtful introspection and contemplation of a broader appreciation of public art, to bring enjoyment to our residents and visitors, and to cultivate and sustain a sense of community pride. The Sculpture Garden’s inaugural installation took place in June 2009 with seven sculptures exhibited at three sites: the Civic Plaza, Veteran’s Memorial Parkway and the Metlox Plaza. Since 2009 the Sculpture Garden has had four additional exhibitions in 2010 - 2011, 2011-2012, 2013-2014, and 2015-2017. Traditionally the program consisted of seven sculptures chosen every year in an open competition. The artist are paid a rental fee of $3,000 per year to display the sculptures. Since 2014 many cities no longer participate in a temporary sculpture program. This has left artists with less opportunities to recuperate their fabrication costs and has limited their ability to rent their sculptures to multiple venues. In order to keep the Sculpture Program viable the Cultural Arts Commission recommends a modification to the program as follows:
• Consolidate the rental of six art works a year into a two-year program with the rental of three art works.
• Three artists will receive $12,000 each for a two-year commitment allowing for adequate funds to develop quality work.
• The two-year time table will enable staff to solicit higher quality work.
2. Public Art Conservation assessment. $20,000
As a point of best practices and as a follow up to the Public Art Decommissioning Policy adopted in 2015, The Cultural Arts Commission recommends an overall assessment of condition, maintenance needs, and conservation treatment recommendations of all the artworks owned by the City. The Commission will oversee the contracting of an Art Conservation professional to develop a report that details the recommendations along with a list of locations of all public art works owned by the City of Manhattan Beach. This report will also include provenance information, history of the artist, and recommend decommissioning if needed.
3. Utility Box Local Artist competition. $30,000
Following the recommendation of the City Council, the Cultural Arts Commission will develop an electrical utility box enhancement program. The initial program will consist of ten (10) local Manhattan Beach artists who will be invited to submit a design that will be transferred to a wrap and installed on ten predetermined electrical boxes in various locations throughout the City. Subject matter will relate to the life and history of Manhattan Beach. Designs will be reviewed by the Cultural Arts Commission with final recommendations presented for City Council approval. The process will consist of the following:
1. An initial list of qualified artists living in Manhattan Beach will be submitted to the Cultural Arts Commission. The commission will choose ten artist to be invited to participate.
2. Each artist will be asked to submit a design for Commission approval.
3. Ten designs will be presented to City Council for approval.
4. Artist would be given $3,000 for each box, $500 for the design fee and balance for fabrication and installation.
5. Approved designs will be fabricated as a wrap and installed.
6. After two years the program will be evaluated and if continued will revert to a competitive process.
4. Cultural Arts Trust Fund Grant Program. Establishing a Community Arts Grant Program. $45,000
Since the inception of the Cultural Arts Commission community members have requested of the Commission special funding for various community projects. To date there is no formal program to process the wide variety of requests. To address the need to fund small-scale art projects and special school projects, the Cultural Arts Commission recommends funding an ongoing yearly Community Arts Grant Program.
Proposed projects might include:
• Community Murals
• Community music and theater programs
• Special community exhibits.
• School music and theater programs
• Mini-festivals
• Art Walks
• Poetry events
• Special presentations in the parks
Annual grant program:
The Community Arts Grant Programs support projects and activities in all disciplines that provide quality arts and cultural programming to the Community of Manhattan Beach. Their purpose is to reinforce the artistic and cultural opportunities and experiences for residents and visitors.
The Cultural Arts Commission manages these funding programs to provide financial support to organizations and individuals through a competitive application and review process. Programs and activities supported through the Community Arts Grant Program take place within the calendar year, Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 annually.
Proposed funding categories:
Arts and Community Organization Projects - (Three arts projects at $5,000 Two Community organization Projects $7,000) requests by artists, community groups and organizations for specific arts projects and activities such as performances, exhibitions, residencies, workshops or lectures that take place in Manhattan Beach.
Arts in the Schools - ($1,500 per project for three projects) addresses requests by MBUSD and nonprofit schools for in-class and before/after-school projects involving professional artists, including artist-in-residence activities, collaborative programs and events by student participants, which are open to the public. This will also include support for activities of school-based, student extracurricular organizations that the public may attend.
5. Projection (Augmented Reality) Sculpture collaboration with Southern California Institute of Architecture (SIARC) project. $30,000
The Cultural Arts Commission has discussed ways in which to develop a program that could push the boundaries of public sculpture installation without incurring large fabrication and installation costs. With an emphasis on innovation, a new technology called augmented reality presents an exciting possibility. It blurs the line between what's real and what's computer-generated by enhancing what we see, hear, feel and smell. Augmented reality adds graphics, sounds, haptic feedback and smell to the natural world as it exists. Both video games and cell phones are driving the development of augmented reality. Everyone from tourists, to soldiers, to someone looking for the closest subway stop can now benefit from the ability to place computer-generated graphics in their field of vision. In order to facilitate this project the City of Manhattan Beach will collaborate with SIARC (Southern California Institute of Architecture) and its students to develop a virtual sculpture project for the City Plaza area. Students will create a virtual 3D model of the Civic Center plaza. This model will be uploaded to the internet and be able to be accessed by artists from all over the world and give them the ability to create a virtual sculpture for the Plaza. Sculptures can be viewed with special glasses that attach to a smartphone. A yearly international call for artists will be developed through an internet competition through programs such as CAFE or CODEX, which are submission sites for public art. Submitting through these sites ensures that all the submissions are standardized and in the same format for judging.
6. Develop an exhibition for City Hall of the works of A.C. Conner. $5,000
One of Manhattan Beach’s founding fathers, Albert Clinton Conner (1848-1929) and his brother Charles Conner (1857-1905) moved to California in October 1887 and became involved in the local art scene, exhibiting in local galleries. In 1909 he moved his family to Manhattan Beach, with his residence recorded as 609 13th St, Manhattan Beach, CA and helped to found the Painters’ Club of Los Angeles. The club was organized in 1906 to bring artists together and present artwork for sale through exhibitions. When the Painters’ Club disbanded a few years later, some of its previous members reorganized themselves, and the California Art Club was formed in late 1909. Its membership guidelines were widened to include women and sculptors, as well as artists who lived outside the state, and the new club quickly grew in size and stature. As one of the founders of the City, A.C. Conner is unfortunately underrepresented as a painter but is an important figure in the history of the arts in California. The City of Manhattan Beach owns nine of his works which need to be appropriately framed and cleaned. The Cultural Arts Commission recommends that an extended exhibition of these important works be presented in City Hall.
PUBLIC OUTREACH/INTEREST:
The proposed use of the Public Art Trust Fund was discussed at Cultural Arts Commission meetings and the Joint City Council/Commission meeting.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and no further legal analysis is required.
Attachments:
1. Public Art Master Plan
2. Ordinance No. 2040