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Arts Advisory Panel Meeting of February 24, 2021.
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NEW BUSINESS:
a. PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING - ARTIST PROPOSAL REVIEW & RECOMMENDATION
Members of the Public Safety Building (PSB) Review Panel were recognized including all members of the Arts Advisory Panel, Police Chief Hudak, Fire Chief de la Rosa, and Cultural Development Board member appointee Leslie Pantin.
A motion was made by Mr. Kolasiński recommending acceptance of the proposed concept for the Public Safety Building presented by Norman Lee with direction to remove the seating element, raise the base, and increase the height of the sculpture. Mr. Guerrier seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
b. GARAGE 7 - ARTIST QUALIFICATIONS REVIEW & RECOMMENDATION
Staff gave a brief overview of the existing Garage 7 public art Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and noted that new Panel members are not familiar with the project and need to be included in the review process. Ms. Cathers provided a summary of the locations identified for public art at the elevator and stairwell sections, including a request from the Police and Fire chiefs to have artwork that is an iconic light feature acting as a beacon to identify the location as a place of safety, refuge, and help. After a brief discussion, the Panel agreed to re-open the Garage 7 RFQ until March 8th. Ms. Cathers noted that the design team agreed to include additional conduit for infrastructure support of artwork.
OLD BUSINESS:
There was no old business.
CITY COMMISSION ITEMS:
There were no City Commission items.
DISCUSSION ITEMS:
Ms. Cathers encouraged Panel members to view the Illuminate Coral Gables exhibition, including the Kiki Smith installation. Dr. Deupi asked about the response to the exhibition to date. Ms. Cathers responded that Giralda Plaza has been busy and there is a lot of interest from visitors to ride the FireFlies artwork. She said that all pieces have had people at them throughout the evenings with no crowding and social distancing being maintained. Ms. Cathers expressed that, in her opinion, Illuminate has been successful, and Lance Fung has done a great job getting media attention. Ms. Miyar, agreed and said it was difficult to get restaurant reservations on Giralda Plaza when she tried. Ms. Cathers reported that parking revenue is up on the exhibition nights and the restaurants have reported increased revenue.
Dr. Deupi asked if any of the works will be considered for permanent acquisition. Ms. Cathers responded that proposals would be welcome and that an initial cost for the Kiki Smith artwork was received; however, staff is waiting until after the second installation is installed to assess the condition of the artwork (after being in the elements). She reported that the Ocean Bank building owners have agreed to purchase the David Gumbs artwork being projected on the building; and that Ruben Millares and Antonia Wright are interested in the City purchasing a set of the Yes/No artwork barricades. It was also shared that the artworks exhibited this year will be considered for exhibition next year.
ITEMS FROM THE SECRETARY:
There were no additional items from the secretary.