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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 3/8/2022 - Memorandum From Ellen Martin Re: Art In Public Places Vine & Lemay Project Discussion (January 18 City Council Meeting) 1 Cultural Services Art in Public Places Lincoln Center 417 W. Magnolia St Fort Collins, CO 80521 970.416-2789 970.221-6373 fax www.fcgov.com/artspublic MEMORANDUM DATE: Mach 2, 2022 TO: Mayor and City Councilmembers THRU: Kelly DiMartino, Interim City Manager Kyle Stannert, Deputy City Manager Seve Ghose, Community Services Director Jim McDonald, Cultural Services Director FROM: Ellen Martin, Visual Arts Administrator RE: APP Vine & Lemay Project discussion (January 18 th City Council meeting) ______________________________________________________________________ This memo is in response to a City Council discussion at the January 18 meeting regarding the proposed artwork for the Vine & Lemay Overpass Project. Council asked how many artist submissions Art in Public Places received for the RFQ. City Council motioned to postpone indefinitely for staff to improve the process. BACKGROUND: The RFQ for the Vine & Lemay project was promoted to artists residing within a 70- mile radius of Fort Collins in January of 2020. 46 artists submitted to this call, with 4 of the artists being ineligible. The selected artist lives in Boulder. Since being selected in February 2020, Art in Public Places (APP) artist Joshua Wiener worked with the Vine & Lemay Project team to develop art concepts that accentuate the new overpass and the views it creates of the surrounding landscape. The design includes ten three-dimensional sculptures along with art designed for the bridge pedestrian fence panels. The art on the bridge pedestrian fence panels is funded by the capital project and replaces the budgeted urban design elements. The three-dimensional design includes four sculptural rings to be placed on the columns at each end of the bridge. Additionally, APP has a second art project at the site of Vine & Lemay. This project was not brought to City Council with the art for the Vine & Lemay Overpass project due to having a later timeline. 2 Next Steps for community engagement: Community outreach for the APP Vine & Lemay Overpass project and promote the second project at the site. Open House - April Vine & Lemay Overpass APP will host an in-person Open House for the community/neighborhood. The artist will share background information on his work, describe the art project and themes, answer questions and request feedback from the community. There will also be a webpage where residents can learn about the art project and find staff contact information to pro Open House. Neighborhood Services will collaborate with APP on the community outreach for these projects. They offer many neighborhood programs and have worked on numerous projects in the Tres Colonias neighborhoods, including Neighborhood Night Out events. APP Staff will present City Council with the final design for the art elements for the Vine & Lemay Overpass after community input. APP will also introduce the second Vine & Lemay project at the April Open House for community input. A second artwork at the site engages the neighborhood and serves as a gateway to the Tres Colonias neighborhoods. The site for the artwork is the detention pond located at the corner of 9th St. and Lemay Ave. This site is highly visible and a great location for a gateway piece. The capital project will be building a sidewalk at this site, making it the pathway to the road and overpass from the neighborhood. APP will gather input from the community on possible themes at the April Open House. (Green area indicates the site for the proposed APP Gateway Project) 3 Gateway Project next steps after Open House and community input: APP/Project Team members would select a local (Fort Collins) artist through an open call to artists. The selected artist would develop the concept for the art with the Project Team. The Project Team would include members from the Tres Colonias neighborhoods. 4 Vine & Lemay Overpass Project Moving by Joshua Wiener The Lemay Avenue realignment and intersection improvements project constructed a new street and intersection slightly east of the previous Vine and Lemay intersection. The design for the intersection includes a new overpass over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railway and existing Vine Drive. The project team worked with Art in Public Places (APP) artist Joshua Wiener to create artwork to accentuate the new overpass and views. The design includes art designed for the bridge pedestrian fence panels and ten free-standing sculptures that are located throughout the site. Aerial view and location of site. 5 The art creates a design of swirls and rings that extend from the bridge pedestrian fence panels and continue, in three-dimensional sculptures, into the landscape on the approaches to the overpass. The artist will also create the four sculptural rings to be placed on each of the four columns at the ends of the bridge. The art on the bridge fence panels is funded by the capital project. The artwork is meant to be playful and move through the site and surrounding la ndscape. The swirls and rings of the artworks are intended to add a sense of motion. Some of the sculptural rings will be placed so they appear under the horizon, seeming to roll through the distant landscape. Other rings will be elevated above the horizon, creating a bold presence against the vast Colorado sky. The rings will serve as apertures to focus the visitors attention on specific views. The artwork elements on the bridge pedestrian fence panels over the railroad tracks will have hole for viewing trains The sculptures are a combination of aluminum and steel. The swirls will be raw steel that will rust, so they will feel like a raised strip of earth. The rings will be sand blasted then painted with a durable product with high UV protection, making them easy to maintain. A rendering of one of four ring sculptures that are tall. A rendering of one of the large freestanding sculptural elements placed in the landscape, near the bridge. A rendering of the second large freestanding sculptural elements placed in the landscape, near the bridge. Renderings of sculptural elements on the bridge fence panels and sculptures on bridge end columns.