Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024 - ART IN PUBLIC PLACES BOARD - ANNUAL REPORT 202 4 ANNUAL REPORT Page 1 ANNUAL REPORT City of Fort Collins Art In Public Places Board 2024 Annual Report 2024 SNAPSHOT • Completed 30 murals: 16 transformer cabinets, 1 traffic box, 1 restroom and 12 pianos. • Selected 15 youth artworks for Pedestrian Pavers. • Collaborated with Poudre School District on two community Transformer Cabinet Mural projects. APP artists worked with the Kinard Core Knowledge Middle School and Fossil High School students to design and paint murals. • Completed the first ever Utilities Artist in Residence. The goal of this project was for an artist to collaborate with the City of Fort Collins Utilities Department to develop tools and outcomes to help communicate the departmental mission and the vital yet often overlooked essential services that Utilities Department performs 24/7, 365 days a year. • Supported equity and inclusion practices: APP translated five calls to artists into Spanish and expanded promotion to community groups. APP goals and projects align with the City of Fort Collins key outcome areas: BACKGROUND Art in Public Places Board meetings started in July of 1995 because it was recognized that art is vitally important to the quality of life and an economic driver in the community. Meetings are held at The Lincoln Center, the third Wednesday of each month at 3:30 p.m. Meetings in 2024 were held both virtually and in person. Members who served in 2024 were Natalie Barnes, Kathy Bauer, Myra Powers, Heidi Shuff, Renee Sherman, Transportation and Mobility Neighborhood Livability and Social Health Environmental Health Transformer Cabinet Mural by Chelsea Ermer and Fossil Ridge High School Students Laporte Bridges by James Lynxwiler Stream Rehabilitation benches by Andrew Dufford and Chevo Studios 202 4 ANNUAL REPORT Page 2 Christopher Staten, and Nancy Zola. Kathy Bauer served as Chairperson and Nancy Zola served as Vice-Chair. PURPOSE • Encourage and enhance artistic expression and appreciation. • Add value to the community through acquiring, exhibiting, and maintaining public art. GOALS • Enrich the public environment for residents and visitors through the visual arts. • Increase public access to works of art. • Promote understanding and awareness of the visual arts in the public environment. • Promote a variety of artistic expressions in the community. • Contribute to the community’s civic pride in its cultural diversity. APP BOARD AND STAFF • Support equity and inclusion practices in APP projects and outreach. • Advise City Council on projects and programs relating to public art, design, education, aesthetics, and APP funding. • Review and make recommendations to City Council on all APP projects and City art donations. • Generate ways to promote APP initiatives and mission. • Share best practices with other local and national agencies on the APP processes and projects. • Support the implementation of the FoCo Creates: Arts and Culture Master Plan. COLLABORATIONS • In its 15th season, Pianos About Town is a partnership with Bohemian Foundation and the Downtown Development Authority, and is administered by APP. • Partnered with Poudre School District on two community Transformer Cabinet Mural projects. APP artists worked with the Kinard Core Knowledge Middle School and Fossil High School students to design and paint murals. • Partnered with FC Moves to have artist Terry McNerney painting a Transformer Cabinet on the corner of Sheilds and Lake Sts. during the Open Streets event. • Advised FC Moves on the call to artists for the Asphalt Art project at Magnolia/Canyon/Sherwood and managed the process of selecting and artists. • Partnered with the Gardens on Spring Creek Gardens on Temporary Art Installation of the artwork of Colorado artist Jodie Bliss on view through late April 2024 • Partnered with the West Elizabeth Bus Rapid Transit Project to have artist Mark Leichliter share project information at the Open Streets event on Shields St. • Partnered with The Lincoln Center to fabricate and install artist-designed van wrap and window clings by Mike McPuff and Jennifer Ivanovic. 202 4 ANNUAL REPORT Page 3 APP collaborates with the project design team early in the process to integrate the art concepts with the project goals. This approach is a model for public art programs across the country. COMPLETED PROJECTS Laporte Bridges – Fort Collins artist James Lynxwiler designed concrete art panels for the eight columns on two canal bridges that were replaced as part of pedestrian and bike improvements along Laporte Ave., east of Taft Hill Rd. and west of Grandview Ave. The canal at this site was hand dug by early settlers over 120 years ago. This art project recognizes these early pioneers and illustrates their efforts to develop the land and bring water into Fort Collins. The artwork highlights and provides a visual connection to the site’s rich history as well as the natural environment that has evolved along Laporte Ave., featuring the birds that currently call the area home. Oak Street Traffic Cabinet Mural – Shawna Turner’s bright, vibrant composition on the traffic cabinet on the SE Corner of College Avenue and Oak St. is titled Ocean Wonderland and depicts a colorful coral reef full of fish and other reef creatures. Stream Rehabilitation – The Stormwater Utility’s Stream Rehabilitation Program seeks to repair areas of streams that have been impacted by human use and growth. Artist Andrew Dufford and Chevo Studios designed artwork that educates and draws attention to the program. The art project includes two components; a portable educational art piece, currently located at Fossil Creek Park, to be moved to a site during the construction phase to tell the story of stream restoration, and two permanent stone creek-side seating spaces, one at Edora Park and one at Fossil Creek Park, that are a lasting amenity with carvings inspired by a healthy, balanced stream. Shawna Turner’s Ocean Wonderland traffic cabinet mural at Oak Street and College Avenue. Andy Dufford and Chevo Studios temporary artwork as part of the Stream Rehabilitation Program currently located at the in-progress project near Fossil Creek Park at the confluence of Fossil and Mail Creeks. 202 4 ANNUAL REPORT Page 4 Utilities Artist in Residence – Fort Collins artist Allie Ogg met with members of the Utilities Department to learn about the departmental mission and the vital yet often overlooked essential services that Utilities Department performs 24/7, 365 days a year. She then created illustrations/story boards representing the Electric and Water Utilities that will be used for a new brand identity and marketing. Water Treatment Facility – Staffed 24 hours a day by state-certified operators, the Fort Collins Water Treatment Facility chemically and physically treats raw non -potable water to make it safe for the community to drink. To honor this work and educate the community about what goes on inside the facility, Fort Collins artist Todd Kundla created Cascade, a sculpture depicting water flowing through steel rings to convey the movement of water both though the landscape and the facility. Pedestrian Pavers – Since 2002, the APP program has worked with the Engineering and Streets Departments to incorporate granite pavers sandblasted with drawings by youth aged from 3 to 18 into City sidewalks. We selected another 15 drawings in 2024. To date, 287 pavers have been installed. Pianos About Town – Pianos were rotated to 17 locations in 2024. The Art in Action component of the program continued with 11 artists painting piano murals on Mountain Ave. and 2 artists painting inside at Foothills. The program has painted a total of 182 piano murals. Transformer Cabinet Murals – The country’s *first* graffiti abatement transformer cabinet mural program and now a model used across the country. Painting Allie Ogg’s illustration of the functions of the Fort Collins Electric and Water Utilities that is the result of her Artist in Residency with the department Todd Kundla’s Cascade sculpture at the Water Treatment Facility on west Laporte Avenue. 202 4 ANNUAL REPORT Page 5 murals on transformer cabinets has a high success rate in mitigating graffiti, saves tens of thousands of dollars a year in abatement costs, and adds art to the community. Visitors to the area seek out the murals as they tour the city, contributing to the City’s economic development. Artists have painted 433 transformer cabinets in the 19 years of the project. APP collaborated with Poudre School District on two community Transformer Cabinet Mural projects. APP artists worked with the Kinard Core Knowledge Middle School and Fossil High School students to design and paint murals. In total, 13 Local artists painted murals on 16 cabinets in 2024. CURRENT AND ONGOING PROJECTS Sixteen projects are currently in development and in progress, including annual projects. The College Ave. Signals, Environmental Learning Center Flow Restoration, I-25 and Prospect Interchange, Oak Street Stormwater Improvements, and Power Trail and Harmony Projects are currently in fabrication. Projects are usually developed in conjunction with a larger construction project, so the art project timeline coincides with the construction timeline. All these projects have an artist working with the project design team to develop concepts that meet the goals of the project. Upcoming projects include Northside Aztlan Lobby, Schoolside Park, and West Elizabeth Bus Rapid Transit. ANNUAL PROJECTS • Pedestrian Pavers • Pianos About Town • Transformer Cabinet Murals OUTREACH • APP staff members continue to give support to private businesses in the community: • Staff worked an APP booth at the city’s State of the City and FoCo EcoFest events. • Staff promoted APP projects to the community prior, during, and after installation with signs on site, and information in newsletters, online, and on social media. • Staff organized and hosted open houses for artists interested in submitting proposals to Pianos About Town and the Transformer Cabinet Mural Project. • APP website has information and images of project downloadable maps and walking tours. • Staff provided information to communities including Golden, Greeley, Loveland, and Omaha, Nebraska. PUBLICITY • APP Brochures – APP promoted the program and the Transformer Cabinet Mural Project with brochures at the Visitor’s Center, The Lincoln Center, and available on the APP website. • City News – The program was featured multiple times in this online newsletter. 202 4 ANNUAL REPORT Page 6 • Facebook – The Pianos About Town Project invited the community to participate with @PianosAboutTown. APP projects were included on the City and The Lincoln Center Facebook pages. • fcgov.com/artspublic – The APP website continued to be updated with new projects, project descriptions, and current calls for art and artists. • Instagram – The Visual Arts department page @focoart features public art projects. Pianos About Town is featured @PianosAboutTown. • Local Publications – The Fort Collins Coloradoan and Collegian printed various photos and articles of APP Projects throughout the year. • Television and Radio – Pianos About Town was featured on 7News. • Web – The local community and visitors to Fort Collins continued to include stories on APP projects in their blogs, websites, and on YouTube. Artist Gale Whitman and students from Kinard Core Knowledge Middle School with the mural they painted as part of the Community Transformer Cabinet Mural Project.