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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023 - Art In Public Places Board - Annual Report 2023 ANNUAL REPORT Page 1 ANNUAL REPORT City of Fort Collins Art In Public Places Board 2023 Annual Report 2023 SNAPSHOT • Completed 42 murals: 17 transformer cabinets, 1 traffic box, 1 Water Treatment Facility cabinet, 13 pianos, and 10 storm drains. • Collaborated with Colorado State University (CSU)’s LEAP program and Neighborhood Services to create a “gallery” of five transformer cabinet murals two blocks from a CSU-sponsored community mural by artist Armando Silva. • Accepted 15 youth drawings to be sandblasted into granite Pedestrian Pavers and placed in City sidewalks. • Featured artwork and poetry by 33 community members at Transfort bus-stop kiosks and on buses and are developing art for bus benches. • Launched a series of temporary storm drain murals to educate the public regarding the land/water connection to help maintain water quality in local streams and protect our local watershed. • Installed ten large-scale sculptures at the Vine and Lemay Overpass by artist Joshua Weiner—our largest installation to date. • 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: Transportation and Mobility Neighborhood Livability and Social Health Environmental Health Moving by Joshua Wiener Bus Shelter Art by Jamie Quint Storm Drain Mural by Samantha Homan 2023 ANNUAL REPORT Page 2 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 2023 were held both virtually via Zoom and in person. Members who served in 2023 were Natalie Barnes, Kathy Bauer, Myra Powers, Heidi Shuff, Renee Sherman, Christopher Staten, and Nancy Zola. Heidi Shuff served as Chairperson and Kathy Bauer 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 14th season, Pianos About Town is a partnership with Bohemian Foundation and the Downtown Development Authority, and is administered by APP. • Partnered with CSU’s LEAP program and Neighborhood Services to coordinate a “gallery” of five transformer cabinet murals two blocks from a CSU-sponsored large- scale community mural by artist Armando Silva. • Partnered with Parks to have artist Kristen Vohs repaint the iconic frog sculptures at City Park • Partnered with The Lincoln Center to create artist -designed van wrap and window clings by Mike McPuff and Jennifer Ivanovic. 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. 2023 ANNUAL REPORT Page 3 COMPLETED PROJECTS Bus and Bus Shelter Art – For the My Fort Collins Project, artwork and poetry by 33 community members was installed at Transfort bus-stop kiosks and on buses. The goal of the project is to share artists’ unique Fort Collins story with the community. Gardens on Spring Creek Temporary Art Installation – For the exhibit, Colorado artist Jodie Bliss created a series of sculptures for the Gardens on Spring Creek. This exhibit parallels the growth of a seed. From a seed pod full of limitless possibility, through the stages of breaking free from the shell, growing, leafing, budding, blossoming and finally spreading its own seeds. This installation is on exhibit at The Gardens through late April 2024. Glenmoor Pond – The project by Fort Collins artist Lisa Cameron Russell stretches the length of the pre-existing guardrail at Glenmoor Pond, creating a focal point in the space for both pedestrians and motorists on Taft Hill Road. Elements added to the guardrail are inspired by the illustrations of pollinators created during workshops with 2nd grade art students from the adjacent Polaris Expeditionary Learning School. Complementary whimsical floral imagery by the artist was added to complete the composition and add structural support. The sculptural elements are fabricated from weathered steel. Dovetail Park – The three-part sculpture by Colorado artist Joshua Wiener creates a gateway element at the three entrances off Miles House Avenue. The steel beam sculptures appear to emerge from the earth, like brush strokes in the landscape. The beams are about 10’ long and created from raw steel. Maple Hill Traffic Cabinet Mural – Chris Bates’ bright, vibrant composition is reflective of the neighboring Maple Hill community. This mural was sponsored by the Maple Hill HOA. Lisa Cameron Russell’s Pollinator Salad Days at Glenmoor Pond. Joshua Wiener’s Land Drift at Dovetail Park. A Journey of Growth and Transformation by Jodie Bliss 2023 ANNUAL REPORT Page 4 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 2023 . To date, 287 pavers have been installed. Pianos About Town – Pianos were rotated to 17 locations in 2023. The Art in Action component of the program continued with 1 1 artists painting piano murals on Mountain Ave. and 2 artists painting inside at Foothills. The program has painted a total of 170 piano murals. Storm Drain Murals – Working with the Stormwater Utility, seven artists painted temporary murals on 10 storm drains located throughout the city. The intent of this project is to educate the public regarding the land/water connection and protect our local watershed. The mural designs will also be used on bus bench ads. Transformer Cabinet Murals – The country’s *first* graffiti abatement transformer cabinet mural program and now a model used across the country. Painting 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 417 transformer cabinets in the 18 years of the project. APP collaborated with CSU’s LEAP program and Neighborhood Services to coordinate a “gallery” of five transformer cabinet murals in Campus West, two blocks from a CSU-sponsored large-scale community mural by artist Armando Silva. In total, 16 Local artists painted murals on 17 cabinets in 2023. Vine and Lemay Overpass – The artwork by Colorado artist Joshua Weiner, features a series of 10 large - scale sculptures. Playful swirls and rings extend from the overpass bridge fence and continue into the landscape creating a bold presence against the Colorado sky and apertures to specific views. Rings appear to either roll through the landscape or float in the sky. Chris Bate’s Muraleaves mural at the Northeast Corner of Turnberry and Country Club Roads Chelsea Ermer, Chris Bates, Dominique Montaño, and Ren Burke (left to right) painted a “gallery” of five Transformer Cabinet Murals in collaboration with CSU and Neighborhood Services. Joshua Wiener’s Moving at the Vine and Lemay Overpass. 2023 ANNUAL REPORT Page 5 Water Treatment Facility Utility Cabinet Mural – Fort Collins artist Kristen Vohs painted a mural on the Sanitary Sewer Lift Pump Cabinet on the grounds of the Water Treatment Facility on west Laporte Avenue. The mural shows Horsetooth Reservoir with an added x-ray view showing pipes running through the dam wall. Large pipes connect these water sources to the Water Treatment Facility, where sediment can be removed, and the water purified. CURRENT AND ONGOING PROJECTS Twenty-one projects are currently in development and in progress, including annual projects. The Lemay Bridges, Poudre River Flow Restoration, Stream Rehabilitation, and Water Treatment Facility 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 College Avenue Signals, West Elizabeth Improvements, I-25 and Prospect Interchange, and Utilities Artist-in- Residence Projects. ANNUAL PROJECTS • Bus and Bus Shelter Art • Pedestrian Pavers • Pianos About Town • Storm Drain Murals • Transformer Cabinet Murals OUTREACH APP staff members continue to give support to private businesses in the community: • Staff provided information on acquiring art and facilitated contact with artists. • 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. • Transformer Cabinet Mural Artist Shawna Turner painted a portion of her mural at the Utilities Xeriscape Garden Party and completed her mural at The Lincoln Center . • Staff provided information to communities across the country, including Clark County, NV., Elmhurst, IL, Grants Pass, OR, Janesville and Milwaukee, WI, Santa Barbara, CA and University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. Kristen Vohs’ Dam X-Ray mural at the Water Treatment Facility 2023 ANNUAL REPORT Page 6 COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS APP staff gave in person and virtual presentations to community groups, including City/CSU One Health Institute, Central Arkansas Metroplan Intercity Visit, and Culture Club. PUBLICITY • APP Brochures – APP promoted the program and the Transformer Cabinet Mural Project with brochures at the Visitor’s Centers downtown and at Prospect and I-25, The Lincoln Center, and available on the APP website. • City News – The program was featured multiple times in this online newsletter. • City View – The Storm Drain Mural Project was featured in the relaunch of the video series. • 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 – Staff was interviewed by MeTV Denver for their Colorado and Me series. • Web – The local community and visitors to Fort Collins continued to include stories on APP projects in their blogs, websites, and on YouTube. Ren Burke Samantha Homan