1 Laramie Public Art Inaugural Plan June 2015 INAUGURAL PLAN INAUGURAL Prepared by Renee Piechocki Jennifer McGregor and Meg Thompson LARAMIE PUBLIC ART LARAMIE ART PUBLIC Thank you to everyone on the Public Art Advisory Committee for their enthusiasm and collaboration. Margaret Brown, Laramie Beautification Committee Tim Chestnut, Albany County Commission Mark Collins, University of Wyoming Josie Davies, Laramie Chamber Business Alliance Larry Foianini, Laramie Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Dan Furphy, Laramie Chamber Business Alliance Jodi Guerin, Laramie Parks and Recreation Paul Harrison, Laramie Parks and Recreation Susan Moldenhauer, University of Wyoming Art Museum Trey Sherwood, Laramie Main Street Alliance Andrea Summerville, Laramie City Council Paul Weaver, Laramie City Council Thank you to all of the artists who gave us permission to feature images of their projects in this plan. 3 Laramie Public Art Inaugural Plan June 2015 Prepared by Renee Piechocki PLAN INAUGURAL Jennifer McGregor and Meg Thompson For Laramie, WY The consultant team Renee Piechocki, Jennifer McGregor, and Meg Thompson in their “office” LARAMIE ART PUBLIC at Night Heron Books. Preparation of the Laramie Public Art Plan was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; the Wyoming Arts Council; the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund; and the Laramie Beautification Committee. laramiepublicart.org Design by Little Kelpie Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 4. City of Laramie Community Development Department 50 PART I: KEY FRAMEWORK 7 5. City of Laramie Public Works A. Introduction: Creating a city-wide Department 51 plan through community engagement 7 6. City of Laramie Parks and Recreation Department 51 B. How to Use This Plan 10 7. University of Wyoming 51 C. Vision and Goals, with Strategies and Actions 11 E. Funding Sources and Strategies for Public Art 52 D. Moving the Plan into Action 16 1. Ongoing Funding Streams 52 PART II: PUBLIC ART PROJECT TYPES, 2. Construction Credits, Contributions, CURATORIAL FRAMEWORKS, and Collaborations 52 AND LOCATIONS 17 3. Grants 53 A. Project Types 17 4. Earned Income 53 1. Integrate Art into Design 17 5. Donations 54 2. Transform Existing Conditions: F. Artist Selection Strategies 54 Turn the Mundane into Magic 22 1. Selection Processes 54 3. Celebrate Laramie 25 2. Selection Panel 55 4. Create Social Spaces 27 3. Artist Outreach 55 B. Curatorial Frameworks 30 4. Best Practices for Selection Panels 1. Artist and Community Collaborations 30 and Processes 55 2. Engage the Environment 33 G. Design Development and Review 56 C. Key Locations 36 1. Conceptual Design and Final Design 56 1. Gateways 36 2. Internal Design Review and Production Review 57 2. Downtown—West Side 39 3. Community Review 57 3. Third Street Corridor 41 4. Review Criteria 57 4. Parks 42 H. Production and Project Management 58 PART III: ADMINISTRATION 45 I. Collections Management 59 A. Public Art Advisory Committee Roles and Framework 45 J. Educational Programs 60 B. Public Art Staff Structure 47 PART IV: APPENDICES 61 C. Five-Year Work Plan 48 A. Public Art Resources 61 D. Roles of Key Stakeholders 48 B. Contract Resources 63 1. Laramie Chamber Business Alliance C. Sample Gift Policy 64 (LCBA) 48 D. Sample Deaccession Policy 2. Laramie Beautification Committee 68 (LBC) 49 E. Laramie Public Art Survey Results 71 3. Laramie Main Street Alliance (LMSA) 49 CONTENTS 4 Reserved for the adoptionresolution for Reserved LARAMIE PUBLIC ART INAUGURAL PLAN 5 Laramie Public Art Inaugural Plan Executive Summary: Top Ten Principles Laramie Public Art is founded on a public private partnership that guides public art in the community and provides needed administrative frameworks for public art. It is designed 1 to collaborate with all entities in the community. The Laramie Public Art Inaugural Plan is reinforced by a surge of community interest in diverse forms of art that involve visual, performing and literature artists. Surveys and in person interviews 2 confirmed that people in Laramie see public art as an important part of a vibrant community. The Public Art Advisory Committee is Laramie’s Public Art working group that plans, produces, 3 and reviews public art projects and initiatives. To grow public art in Laramie and implement this plan, a staff person is essential to serve 4 as a public art resource for the community. A range of projects should be considered to integrate art into design, engage the community, create social spaces, engage the environment, elevate mundane places into memorable ones, 5 and celebrate what is unique to Laramie. Laramie’s gateways, Downtown and West Side, and City parks are key locations for initial public art 6 projects, as reinforced by community participation in the plan. Community outreach and engagement is expected and necessary at all stages of public art 7 planning and implementation. Educational programs and resources are essential to build capacity among the area artists, 8 and to communicate clearly about public art to residents and visitors. All of the expansive ideas outlined in the Plan require capacity and time to implement. A five-year 9 work plan will be developed by Laramie Public Art and updated annually with community input. At the end of the day, implementing the Plan should be fun, using the strategies and ideas to create the plan as a springboard for action. PART I: KEY FRAMEWORK I: KEY PART 10 6 7 PART I: PLAN INAUGURAL KEY FRAMEWORK LARAMIE PUBLIC ART LARAMIE ART PUBLIC a proactive working group that has Participants gave detailed feedback A. Introduction: guided this plan through biweekly about the project types and Creating a phone calls and in-person meetings. curatorial frameworks, and offered city-wide During our first visit, from January suggestions for locations and other 12 through January 16, 2015, the types of approaches to public art in plan through consultant team held stakeholder the community. Concurrently, we community interviews and met with two launched a survey that was available different focus groups, one of visual in print and online, which was engagement artists and another of performing completed by 324 individuals. artists. Committee members gave Based on these meetings, the In 2014, the City of Laramie received us a tour to introduce development survey results, and our research, a prestigious Our Town grant from issues, neighborhoods, Downtown, we developed a vision, goals, and the National Endowment for the and the City park system. On this trip strategies that were shared with the Arts to develop a public art plan. The we gained an understanding of key Public Art Advisory Committee and project was funded with matching issues and opportunities. adapted with their input. In April we funds from a variety of local and Based on what we learned during the returned and presented the vision, state sources. The consultant team of first visit, we created presentations goals, and strategies to the City Renee Piechocki, Jennifer McGregor, that outlined potential project Council for their feedback. The focus and Meg Thompson was selected types and curatorial frameworks for of this visit was a series of four pop- through a national search to work Laramie. We presented these to the up workshops that included: Public alongside the Public Art Advisory City Council at a working meeting Art Lunch and Learn, Third Street Committee. A planning process with on February 24 during our second Public Art Walk, Greenbelt Public broad community participation has trip, and hosted a community Art Hike and Walk, and a show-and- resulted in a document that can be conversation at the Laramie Junior tell-style workshop where people used by any entity in the community. High School on February 25, as well showed five images in five minutes. The planning process began in as another at Lincoln Community Over 50 people participated in these December 2014 with a kick-off Center on February 28. Over 70 activities, which were structured meeting with the Committee, people attended these meetings. to link the project ideas to specific Images of the presentation and workshop activity at the Community Public Art Conversation at Lincoln Community Center, February 2015 PART I: KEY FRAMEWORK I: KEY PART 8 9 sites and garner new ideas and identified by city staff, community a Facebook page for Laramie Public feedback from Laramie residents. members, WYDOT staff, and Art, and a Pinterest page with We also held in-depth conversations engineers. examples from the community about the administrative framework public art conversations. We for the plan with the Community In early June a draft of the plan was participated in the development Development Department, the Public presented to the Public Art Advisory of a PSA for public television. The INAUGURAL PLAN INAUGURAL Art Advisory Committee, the Laramie Committee, and was adapted with Public Art Plan’s media coverage Chamber Business Alliance, and the their input. An updated plan was included the Laramie Boomerang, Laramie Main Street Alliance. presented to City Council and the The Branding Iron, Wyoming Public community at the end of June. Media, and KOCA. Enthusiasm about public art opportunities in Laramie was ignited Outreach was key in developing the by our February presentations, plan. The meetings and workshops resulting in a meeting in April were created to test different forms with Wyoming Department of of engagement that can be used LARAMIE ART PUBLIC Transportation (WYDOT) and as models as public art activity the City of Laramie about the continues in Laramie. In addition new Harney Street Bridge, where to these activities, we created the opportunities for public art were website laramiepublicart.org, Harney Street Bridge Meeting at Tryhydro’s office, April 2015. Community members participate in mapping places to transform the mundane into magic on Third Street, April 2015. The Vision and Goals, with Strategies and Downtown and the Westside, Third B.