ATTACHMENT A

The Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission (CHPAC) is a special commission of the Town of Chapel Hill with non profit 501(c) (3) status. Established in 1992 by a resolution of the Town Council, the CHPAC manages the Town’s public art program.  This includes advising the Council on art-related matters, increasing public access to the arts through programming initiatives, and promoting public understanding and awareness of the arts. CHPAC works with Town staff to administer the Town’s Percent for Art program, manages the Town’s art collection, sponsors and administers art exhibitions, an outdoor large-scale temporary sculpture exhibition, an annual community project, and arts in education programming.  Additionally, the CHPAC is currently working on a Public Art Contextual Plan for the Town of Chapel Hill.  Sixteen volunteer Commission board members are appointed by the Town Council for a three-year term, renewable once, and serve as advisors and supporters of public art.

Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission Timeline

1992

• Former Town Council member Nancy Preston makes a donation to the Town of Chapel Hill to create a fund for public art and requests the establishment of a Public Art Endowment Fund Committee. Town Council unanimously approves.
• Funds are raised to purchase and install a hanging system and display case for exhibitions at Town Hall.

1993

• At the request of the Public Art Endowment Fund Committee the name of the organization is changed to the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission.

1994

• The first exhibition is displayed in Chapel Hill Town Hall.
• CHPAC begins working on (what eventually becomes) the highly controversial Gun Sculpture public art project with artist Thomas Sayre.

1996

• CHPAC sponsors Public Art Month in Chapel Hill which includes several lectures, a special exhibition, and a proclamation from the Mayor.

1997

• CHPAC hires a part-time contractor.
• Funds are raised to purchase and install a hanging system for exhibitions at the Chapel Hill Public Library.

1998

• Funds are raised to purchase and install two additional display cases for Town Hall.
• CHPAC begins jurying art exhibitions.
• The first exhibition is displayed at the Chapel Hill Public Library.
• Sharing the Education by Riley Foster is installed outside the Chapel Hill Public Library.
• CHPAC sponsors the second Public Art Month in Chapel Hill which includes several lectures, a special exhibition, and a proclamation from the Mayor.

2000

• Undergraduate students at UNC-Chapel Hill work with the CHPAC and Jim Hirschfield, UNC-Chapel Hill Art Department Director of Graduate Studies, to develop a Master Plan for Public Art in Chapel Hill.
• Anita Wolfenden is commissioned to create a tapestry for Chapel Hill Town Hall titled Crossroads.
• CHPAC collaborates on the development of the Pritchard Park Art Garden.
• CHPAC hosts Sculpture on the Green 2000, a two-day sculpture exhibition on McCorkle Place in conjunction with AppleChill.

2001

• Several pieces from the Sculpture on the Green 2001 exhibition are selected to remain on view in public sites throughout Town for a Summer Select exhibition.
• A call to local performing artists is issued and a roster of musicians is compiled for CHPAC events.

2002

• The CHPAC proposes a Percent for Art Ordinance for the Town of Chapel Hill which is adopted unanimously by Chapel Hill Town Council.
• With a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council, a consultant is hired and a planning team is formed to develop a Five Year Strategic Plan.
• Mike Roig is selected to create an outdoor sculpture, Promethean Honor Guard, for the Town’s first Percent for Art project at Firehouse #5.
• Arlene Slavin is selected to create the Franklin Street Benches for the Streetscape Percent for Art project.
• Arts in Education programming started with the first bus-card project collaboration with Chapel Hill Transit, the public schools, and the CHPAC.
• CHPAC participates in review and selection of artists for AppleChill.

2003

• www.chapelhillarts.org is launched.
• CHPAC hosts a one-day arts festival Arts 'Round Town.
• CHPAC begins cataloguing the Town's art collection and making recommendations for restoration and de-accessioning.
• Sculpture on the Green and Summer Select are expanded into SculptureVisions, a six month temporary sculpture exhibition in public spaces throughout Chapel Hill.
• CHPAC hires a full-time contractor.
• David Wilson is selected to create a series of murals for the Hargraves Community Center Percent for Art project.
• Sally Erickson is selected to create a broken-tile mosaic for the IFC Community House Percent for Art project.

2004

• CHPAC sponsors an artist in residence program at Phillips Middle School to create the temporary public artwork THINK. The program is made possible with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
• Larry Kirkland is selected for the Town Operations Center Percent for Art project.
• Ray King is selected for the Homestead Park Aquatic Center Percent for Art project.
• Laura Haddad and Tom Drugan are selected to join the design team for the new Southern Community Park Percent for Art project.
• As an outgrowth of the Arts ’Round Town Festival, the CHPAC sponsors a Community Art Project of self portraits, which are displayed in public places throughout Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
• First CHPAC newsletter is published in the Chapel Hill News.
• Establishment of a CHPAC Public Art Fund.
• CHPAC begins the process of establishing 501c3 non-profit status.

2005

• CHPAC hosts a public education forum The Art of Place Making:Strategies for Thinking about Urban Design and Public Art with guest speaker Ronald Lee Fleming, Founder and Principal of the Townscape Institute. The Forum is sponsored jointly by the CHPAC, the Foundation for a Sustainable Community, and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce.
• On the Road Again, an exhibition organized by the North Carolina Arts Council and the Center for Craft Creativity and Design is co-sponsored by the CHPAC and the Orange County Arts Commission during its installation at the Chapel Hill YMCA.
• CHPAC redesigns logo.
• CHPAC launches redesigned website.
• CHPAC co-sponsors a workshop for artists Thinking Bigger:Expanding Your Career to Public Art with the North Carolina Arts Council and the Durham Arts Council.