AGENDA # 9a
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission (CHPAC)
SUBJECT: Recommendation for an Artist Selected for the IFC Renovation Project
DATE: October 27, 2003
The Public Arts Commission recommends that the Town Council authorize the Town Manager to execute a contract with Sally Erickson for the creation of artwork in conjunction with the IFC Shelter Capital Repairs.
BACKGROUND
On March 4, 2002, the Town Council established the Percent for Art Program, which provides for spending a percent of the budget of selected capital projects on public art. Resolution R-8 adopted on March 4, 2002, includes an outline of the process to select artists and art.
On September 8, 2003, the Town Council agreed to proceed with a Percent for Art project as a part of the IFC Shelter Capital Repairs.
The budget for the IFC Shelter Capital Repairs was set by the Council at $450,000, with one percent of that, or $4,500, going toward public art. The project includes a broken-tile mosaic to be located in the main dining room.
Following the procedures of the Council’s resolution, the Public Arts Commission (CHPAC) has completed an artist selection process and has decided on its recommendation to the Council.
An Artist Selection Committee that included two representatives of the community, two members of the CHPAC, two art professionals, a representative from the IFC Shelter, a representative from Town Council, and a representative from the Manager’s Office reviewed the work of five artists submitted through an open call. Two highly qualified finalists were chosen to be interviewed. After interviewing the two finalists, the Committee discussed the candidates in depth, and selected Sally Erickson to recommend to the Town Council to receive a commission to create a new public artwork for the IFC Shelter Capital Repairs project.
ARTIST RECOMMENDED FOR SELECTION
Sally Erickson is a ceramic artist living in Chatham County. She has made art since she was a child and began experimenting with broken tile mosaics in 1996. In 2000 she took a six-month sabbatical from her work as a psychotherapist to pursue her work as an artist. Since then she has continued her work as both a psychotherapist and an artist and has received several private commissions in North Carolina including a number of broken-tile mosaic floors at the General Store Café in Pittsboro, North Carolina, and several commissions in private homes in North Carolina.
At her interview with the Artist Selection Committee, Erickson discussed her previous work, in addition to her ideas about the Percent for Art project at the IFC Shelter. The Selection Committee was very impressed by Erickson’s broken-tile mosaics and by her understanding and sensitive approach to this project. The Committee was thrilled to hear her excitement about working with the staff, volunteers and guests of the shelter in order to come up with the general concept for this piece. Her plan is to produce a large broken-tile mosaic for the dining area, one of the high-traffic areas of the shelter.
NEXT STEPS
Assuming the Council authorizes a contract, the Artist will begin meeting with the staff, volunteers, and guests of the IFC Shelter to begin working on her design proposal for this project. The fully developed design proposal shall consist of: a project budget, scaled drawings, a written statement describing the concept for the Art Work, material samples, a tentative fabrication schedule, instructions for installing the work at the site, and maintenance recommendations. Upon reviews, possible modifications and approvals, the Art Work will be installed in the IFC Shelter after the capital repairs are completed. The tentative schedule for these repairs is April 1 through July 1, 2004.
RECOMMENDATION
The Public Arts Commission (CHPAC) recommends that Sally Erickson, who was selected by the Artist Selection Committee and reviewed by the full Commission, be awarded the Percent for Art commission for the IFC Shelter Capital Repairs project. Minutes of the Artist Selection Committee meetings are attached.
ATTACHMENTS
CHAPEL HILL PUBLIC ARTS COMMISSION (CHPAC)
IFC Community Shelter
Percent for Art Project
Artist Selection Committee Meeting
September 29, 2003
MEETING SUMMARY
Present: Jeff Cohen CHPAC member and chair of the Artist Selection Committee; Andrew Ross and Ellen Fussell, CHPAC representatives; Mark Kleinschmidt, Town Council representative; Toni Pendergraph, Town Manager’s representative; Chris Moran, IFC representative; Billy Barnes and Josh Gurlitz, Community representatives; Linda Passman and Jerry Noe, Arts Professionals; and Kate Billings (CHPAC Program Coordinator)
Cohen called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
II. Introduction
Cohen welcomed everyone and thanked them again for volunteering their time to serve on the Artist Selection Committee for the IFC Community Shelter Percent for Art Project. He explained that the goal for tonight’s meeting was to select the artist for the project.
Cohen reminded the committee that they would be interviewing the finalists Cathy Kiffney and Sally Erickson who were selected at the previous Artist Selection Committee meeting on September 15, 2003. He explained that each artist will present their slides, talk about their work, and then answer questions from the committee. Cohen pointed out that everybody had a list of prepared questions in their packets, noting however, that this was really just a starting point and people should feel free to ask their own questions. After the interviews, the committee will discuss both artists and select the final artist either by consensus or by a simple majority vote.
Kiffney presented her slides to the committee while discussing her previous ceramic work and her technique. Her style is very colorful and whimsical and often incorporates motifs such as butterflies, birds, and trees – elements that she noted would help to brighten and enliven the shelter. If chosen, she would be interested in creating a piece in the dining room area as this is the most highly used area of the shelter. She was considering producing pieces for the East wall which is straight ahead as you enter the dining area and on the North wall, which is to the right as you enter the dining area. She mentioned that she would look into producing a piece that is hollow so that the weight of the piece will not be a problem and/or create the piece by using 6 x 6 inch tiles in order to help distribute the weight more evenly. She mentioned that she would like to meet with guests of the shelter to discuss the piece and get their input.
Erickson presented her slides to the committee and discussed her style and process of working on commissions. She explained that her broken-tile mosaic work is typically created from recycled construction tile (which is very durable and easy to maintain) and occasionally incorporates glass, metal, or found objects. She explained that, if chosen, she would begin the process by having conversations with staff, volunteers, and guests of the shelter to find out exactly what’s important to those groups of people and possibly finding ways that they could help her to create the actual piece. She noted that her work as a psychotherapist helps her work with all different groups. She said that she would not only like to have meetings with staff, volunteers and guests, but would also plan to visit the shelter during meals in order to get ideas from the guests in a more relaxed atmosphere. She plans to create a piece for the dining room area on the East wall.
Following the interviews, each member of the committee had an opportunity to give comments about the artists’ previous work and their approach to this project. Everybody commented that regardless of which artist was ultimately picked for the project; it would be a win-win situation, since both artists are so talented. Members of the committee commented that Kiffney had a wonderful style, used vibrant energetic colors, and that her work had an overall feeling of whimsy and vitality. Members of the committee commented that Erickson’s work was visually appealing as well as thought-provoking and were interested to hear how closely she intends to work with everybody at the IFC Shelter.
Cohen then asked the committee members to vote. The results of the vote were:
Cathy Kiffney 4 votes
Sally Erickson 5 votes
All members of the committee decided to proceed with a simple majority vote reiterating that both artists are incredibly talented and that the decision was extremely difficult.. Sally Erickson received a majority of the votes and was declared the selected artist for the IFC Community Shelter Percent for Art project.
V. Closing and Next Steps
Cohen explained that this recommendation will now need to be approved by the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission and then will go to Town Council for final approval. Once the recommendation has been approved by Town Council, the Town will enter into a contract with Sally Erickson. Erickson will then begin meeting with members of the IFC Community Shelter and begin working on her design proposal. Cohen explained that this Artist Selection Committee will reconvene to review the final design proposal before it is displayed for public comment.
The IFC Shelter renovations are scheduled to take place April 1 through July 1, 2004, and the piece will hopefully be installed shortly thereafter.
VI. Closing and Next Steps
Cohen thanked the members of the Artist Selection Committee for their great work and adjourned the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Kate Billings
Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission