Each year, the CHPAC develops an Annual Public Art Plan, outlining which projects from the Town’s Capital Improvement Plan should be recommended as a Percent for Art project. In FY06-07 the Percent for Art projects being managed by the CHPAC include: the Homestead Park Aquatics Center, Southern Community Park, the Town Operations Center, and Parking Lots 2 & 5. The CHPAC establishes program initiatives and guidelines; arranges community meetings; develops calls for artists; creates review committees; and works with each selected artist from research to installation.
The CHPAC sponsors an Exhibition Series annually featuring approximately twelve exhibitions at the Chapel Hill Town Hall and the Chapel Hill Public Library. The CHPAC disseminates calls to artists, organizes the selection committee, reviews and selects the artists, mounts the exhibitions, announces the shows, and coordinates opening receptions. Special exhibitions organized for this Series include the Black History Month exhibition and the Town Employee exhibition.
Through the Artists in Residence program, the CHPAC offers a unique opportunity to increase exposure to the visual arts and for public art education. This February local textile artist Peg Gignoux worked with the fourth grade students of Scroggs Elementary to create a permanent collaborative piece of art that hangs in the school’s central stairwell. Past Artists in Residence projects include the CHPAC’s bus card projects, in which students worked with an artist to create temporary works displayed on Town buses, and the THINK installation, in which students worked with an artist to create a temporary outdoor artwork located at the Chapel Hill Police Department.
The Community Art Project offers all members of the community the opportunity to create works of art. The program engages people of all ages, backgrounds, and interests and ultimately celebrates the identity, individuality, diversity, and creativity of our community. The past two Community Art Projects -Self Portraits and Dream -as well as this year’s Lost and Found project culminate in non-juried exhibitions on display throughout Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The CHPAC coordinates the call to the community, advertising, installation, promotion, an opening reception, and an evening when all of the venues are open after hours.
Each year the CH PAC sponsors Sculpture Visions, a temporary, large-scale, outdoor sculpture exhibition. Sculptures are selected by a jury and are sited in public locations throughout Chapel Hill. In addition to putting out the call to artists and administering the selection and siting process, the CHPAC produces promotional materials, promotes the exhibition with local media, and coordinates the installation and removal of the works.
The CHPAC is working to create a Public Art Contextual Plan that is intended to become a formal part of the Town of Chapel Hill’s Comprehensive Plan. The Plan will include recommendations for a comprehensive organizational approach to the design of future public art projects and initiatives. The CHPAC hopes to increase discussion about how public art can become part of our expectations for living in this community.
The CHPAC, in conjunction with the Town of Chapel Hill, is committed to the long-term maintenance, conservation, and preservation of artwork in the Town’s collection. The CHPAC monitors the condition of each work, from large-scale outdoor works of art to small two dimensional works of art.
The CHPAC is always considering new ways to connect with our community. The CHPAC launched its redesigned website (www.chapelhillarts.org) in April 2005 as an improved resource for the community. The CHPAC also publishes an annual newsletter each spring.