PUBLIC ART MASTER PLAN Draft for Public Review December 2016
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Cover collage, clockwise from top left: Lou Kregal, Nack, City Hall, Harold Rittenberry, David Hale, Daily Groceries Co-op 2 ATHENS PUBLIC ART MASTER PLAN Draft for Public Review December 2016 Submitted by Athens Cultural Affairs Commission ATHENS PUBLIC ART MASTER PLAN 3 T EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 A B L THE BIG PICTURE: CREATIVE AND PROGRAM D IRECTIONS 16 E • Introduction 16 O • Vision, Mission, Goals 17 F • Capital Projects / SPLOST 18 C • Downtown Art Walk, Cultural Trail 19 O • Bus Shelters, Bike Racks 21 NT • Murals 22 E • Artist- and Community-Initiated Projects 24 N • Planning and Policy 25 T • Public Art in Private Development 28 S NEXT STEPS: FIVE-YEAR PLAN 30 HOW TO G ET THERE: TECHNICAL RECOMMENDATIONS 34 • Criteria for Selection Programs, Projects and Sites 36 • Annual Work Plan and Budget 38 • Public Art Project Plans 38 • Artist Recruitment, Selection Processes 39 • Volunteer Leadership and Professional Staffing 43 • Public Funding Sources 46 • Private Funding Sources 49 • Artist Development 51 • Partnerships: Public Art Ecosystem 53 • Communications and Marketing 55 • Collection Management 57 • Evaluation 60 • Roles and Responsibilities 61 • Definitions 64 4 ATHENS PUBLIC ART MASTER PLAN IMPLEMENTATION GUIDES FOR PUBLIC ART 66 • Implementation Guide #1 SPLOST Projects 68 • Implementation Guide #2 Art Walk and Cultural Trail Projects 72 • Implementation Guide #3 Murals 76 • Implementation Guide #4 Bus Shelters 80 • Implementation Guide #5 Bike Racks 82 • Implementation Guide #6 Grants to Artists and Organizations 84 • Implementation Guide #7 Artist Residencies 86 • Implementation Guide #8 Major Grants 88 APPENDICES 9 0 • 1. SPLOST Project Recommendations 92 • 2. Guidelines for Donations 96 • 3. Guidelines for Public Art in Private Development 100 ATHENS PUBLIC ART MASTER PLAN 5 EX E CUTIV E SUMMARY Spirit of Athens, Torchlighter, William J. Thompson, City Hall. Courtesy Athens Cultural Affairs Commission. Athens–Clarke County (ACC) is best known as the home of the University of Georgia, whose founding in 1801 at the location of a trading post along the Oconee River became the impetus for organizing the town a few years later. While ACC is the smallest county in Georgia, it is quite diverse, with the university, a bustling downtown, small industry, productive agricultural lands and a thriving music and culinary scene. Today, as the pace of change in ACC is accelerating, community leaders hope that public art can be an integral piece of the puzzle that provides a sense of place in the community — contributing to broader efforts at beautification and allowing a new generation, and new genres, of artists to leave their mark. This master plan follows on a new and growing commitment by the Athens–Clarke County Unified Government (ACCUG) to invest in public art. The plan sets out a vision for public art in the community, identifies key projects, outlines a work plan for the next five years and beyond, and concludes with policies and procedures that will help the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission (ACAC) move projects forward. 6 ATHENS PUBLIC ART MASTER PLAN “ Creativity empowers people to understand themselves and others better.” City Hall. Courtesy Athens Cultural Affairs Commission. ATHENS PUBLIC ART MASTER PLAN 7 PLAN DEVELOPMENT Athens–Clarke County’s public art initiative dates back to 2010, when the Mayor and Commission adopted the recommendation of a special task force to dedicate one percent of capital expenditures to public art, and to appoint a volunteer Athens Cultural Affairs Commission (ACAC) to oversee public art and 1 other cultural initiatives. That same year, voters approved the continuation of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) to fund 33 community projects, including a pool of funds to be allocated for public art. Since then, the ACAC has commissioned about a half dozen art projects, relying mostly on volunteers to shepherd projects through the development process, has launched a community grants program, and has managed the development of this public art master plan. Because of its workload, the ACAC has been expanded from nine to eleven members. The ACAC began organizing the public art master plan process in summer, 2014, outlining the following goals for the project: • Assess the city’s cultural assets and opportunities, • Engage stakeholders and the community at large, • Develop a long-range (twenty-year) plan for Robert Clements, Untitled, Athens–Clarke County Library. Photo courtesy ACAC. public art, • Recommend action steps for implementing “ Help us to be a more ‘creative the plan and estimate costs where appropriate, and collective’ of people who are • Deliver public outreach materials to innovators, idea generators.” communicate the values, vision and process of the final master plan. In January 2015, the ACAC issued an RFP for the project, ultimately contracting with Todd W. Bressi, Urban Design • Place Planning • Public Art to serve as the planning consultant. The planning process involved research, public and stakeholder engagement, extensive site 1 Chapter 1-25 of the Athens–Clarke County Municipal Code, “Athens Cultural Affairs Commission.” visits throughout Athens and ongoing review of progress by an advisory committee. 8 ATHENS PUBLIC ART MASTER PLAN Public Engagement Public engagement was very important to the ACAC and Athens Food Stories was at the heart of the planning process. There were As part of the Athens public art master plan process, led by the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission, the planning team invited artist Seitu Jones to develop a project that assists with several approaches — guest artist projects, stakeholder community engagement and demonstrates contemporary practices in public art. Seitu visited conversations, an advisory committee, public events and an Athens from October 13-16, 2015 to collect food stories from residents. Internet survey. Many of these food stories relate to a place…a housing complex, a South American country, a table, a market, a restaurant, or home. These are just a few of the almost 30 stories collected by Seitu and artist Kira Hegeman. All of us have food stories and these stories could possibly help inform the placement and execution of public art projects in Athens. • Bressi invited artists Seitu Jones, Matthew Mazzotta and Wing Young Huie to accompany him on visits in October, First story has to do with how you get seniors December and April. The role of the artists was to engage to come to meetings of the community using their own research methodologies, things that are really thereby connecting with a wide variety of people who important and educational is to serve food. wouldn’t ordinarily take part in a public art master plan, Anytime we put out a little and demonstrating a variety of approaches to public art buffet the main Good Neighbors Daylobby is packed, we have Ethel Collins practice beyond traditional sculpture and murals. that’s coming Is described as an angel in our midst and • The planning team conducted extensive interviews with up next began as a volunteer for the Athens Land Tuesday and Trust. Miss Ethel grows food for the West public officials and community, civic and arts leaders, we do a big Broad Farmers Market, using methods Arlene Stern lunch and the learned as a girl. She then prepares foods whole building using recipes and techniques learned from including faculty and administrators at the University of . is coming down, her grandmother. She has always used food otherwise we have about 30 people out of 113 for healing and preventing ailments Georgia. The interviews provided detailed information apartments Maru affecting many other older adults. Castellanos Broderick Flanigan about arts, civic and government organizations. My favorite food is by far, Growing up I remember • The planning team conducted several stakeholder black beans…I love black my grandmother beans, because black beans making salmon patties. is something that in She would take canned roundtables — two that were open to any artist who Guatemala, you will have in salmon and put it in a the morning and in the bowl then add wanted to attend, one with downtown stakeholders, evening and sometimes for seasonings and one egg lunch. You can prepare to help it stay together and one with people interested in making murals. These different types of black beans, with different while it was being fried. stuff. They go with everything. I just love it…. Those and turnip greens Here I buy canned black beans from the Latin were some of my favorites that she made. were opportunities for open-ended discussions about American market…Canned black beans from I would get some hot sauce and mustard Guatemala…I just bought black beans and make a great sandwich with some the arts and creative life in Athens–Clarke County, as well yesterday. white bread. as focused conversations that were useful in exploring recommendations for public art downtown and for murals Seitu Jones, Athens Food Stories, collected during master plan process. throughout the community. • The ACAC convened a master plan advisory committee comprised of civic, community, arts and business leaders. The advisory committee contributed its observations about opportunities and needs for public art in Athens– Clarke County, and reviewed early versions of the vision statement, goals and recommendations that are incorporated into this plan. • The ACAC scheduled four public events during the course of the planning process, including lectures by guest artists and an open house. These events helped seed high expectations for public art, as evidenced by comments at the open house about when the ACAC would be able to develop the types of projects that the visiting artists talked about during their residencies. ATHENS PUBLIC ART MASTER PLAN 9 Survey The ACAC also invited public comment through a survey open to the public over the Internet and circulated printed copies of surveys at its public events. Some of the key findings3: • The character of Athens–Clarke County is • Respondents expressed an overwhelming defined by an intangible feel or aura that desire for more murals.