HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 9/27/2022 - Memorandum From Jim Mcdonald And Ellen Martin Re: 2022 Art In Public Places Midyear ReportCultural Services
Art in Public Places
417 W. Magnolia St
Fort Collins, CO 80521
970.221-6735
970.221-6373 – fax
fcgov.com/artspublic
Date: August 23, 2022
To: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager
Tyler Marr, Interim Deputy City Manager
Seve Ghose, Community Services Director
From: Jim McDonald, Cultural Services Director
Ellen Martin, Visual Arts Administrator
Re: 2022 Art in Public Places Midyear Report
Attached please find the 2022 Art in Public Places Midyear Report for City Council.
At the February 24, 2009 City Council Work Session, the Art in Public Places (APP) program
was reviewed. At that Work Session, the City Manager recommended that in addition to an
Annual Report, APP prepare a written midyear report on projects for City Council to review.
Since its inception in 1995, the APP program has commissioned over 160 public art projects and
over 377 completed transformer cabinet murals, over 145 painted pianos, 272 kid’s pavers, with
its impact seen throughout the Fort Collins community. Public art is everywhere: parks, gardens,
city facilities, alleyways, plazas, streetscapes, natural areas, utility sites, culture and recreation
facilities, trails, and transportation centers, adding to the city’s unique image and economic
health.
Please let us know if we can provide any additional information.
Thank you.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4E23CA96-C3BC-46E6-BC83-5C351B99A387
September 22, 2022
TO: Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Kelly DiMartino
FYI /sek
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ART IN PUBLIC PLACES
2022 MIDYEAR REPORT
fcgov.com/artspublic
2022 COMPLETED PROJECTS
Gardens on Spring Creek
Temporary Art Installation
Bird House Village is a temporary art installation at the Gardens on Spring Creek by local artists Dan
Huling and Todd Kundla. It will be on view through February 2023.
Celebrating both the beauty the ecological functions of birds, including seed dispersal, pollination and
pest control, the installation features nine unique bird communities.
Using found objects collected from across the area, Bird House Village explores the concept of house and
home through the view of birds. Utilizing materials like large tree stumps, driftwood, salvaged piano
parts, scrap wood, and a large collection of odds and ends, the artists have created a variety of sculptural
micro-habitats and clustered dwellings that create niche bird neighborhoods throughout The Gardens.
In 2022, the City of Fort Collins Art in Public Places (APP) Program will:
•Support equity and inclusion practices: APP translated five calls to artists and
expanded our promotion to community groups.
•Administer painting 44 murals: 23 transformer cabinets, 8 storm drain, and 13 pianos.
•Create 15 granite Pedestrian Pavers: Pavers will be sandblasted with youth drawings to
be placed in City sidewalks.
•Work to produce/develop 25 projects: 7 projects are currently approved for
fabrication and 18 are in development.
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25 PROJECTS IN PROGRESS
APP projects are funded by City capital construction projects and are tied to the project
construction timeline. Artists are selected through an open call process or from a pre-approved list of
artists. Qualifications are reviewed by the APP Board, a City Purchasing representative, and
representatives of the project team. The group selects artists to become part of the project team to
develop concepts for the artwork based on the goals of the project and input from the team.
• Bucking Horse Park —Joshua Wiener
• Glenmoor Pond Enhancements—Lisa Cameron
Russell
• Pedestrian Pavers—Local Youth
• Pianos About Town (partnership with
Bohemian Foundation and DDA)
• Poudre River Public Library District Mural Dona-
tion—Carla Gamboa
• Transformer Cabinet Murals
• Veterans Plaza Art Donation
APPROVED BY APP BOARD
• Bus and Bus Stop Art—TBD (multiple)
• Grandview Cemetery—TBD
• Environmental Learning Center—Katy Casper
• Laporte Bridges—Jim Lynxwiler
• Oak Street Stormwater Improvements—Mark
Aeling
• Power Trail and Harmony Road Crossing—Todd
Kundla
• South Timberline Rd—TBD
• Stream Rehabilitation, multiple sites—Andy
Dufford
• Storm Drain Mural Project—TBD (multiple)
• Taft Hill Road Widening—Robert Eccleston
• Utility Public Artist in Residence Program—Allie
Ogg
• Utility Service Center—TBD
• Vine Drive and Lemay Avenue—Joshua Wiener
• Vine and Lemay Gateway—TBD
• Water Reclamation Facility—Lisa Cameron
Russell
• Water Treatment Facility Entryway—Todd
Kundla
• Water Treatment Facility Utility Cabinets—TBD
• West Elizabeth Improvements—Mark Leichliter
18 PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT
Relocated Artwork:
Timberline Recycling Center
APP assisted in moving two city-
owned artworks for placement at
the Timberline Recycling
Center. This includes FireBird by
Todd Kundla (shown here). It is
created out of fencing salvaged
from the house at 105 E. Vine,
which was removed as part of the
Poudre River Whitewater Park.
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23 Transformer Cabinet Murals
In partnership with Fort Collins Utilities Light and Power, APP is commissioning 16 Fort Collins artists to
transform 23 Fort Collins electrical transformer cabinets into works of art. APP is also working on a
Neighborhood Transformer Cabinet Mural Program where artists will work with residents to create a
mural in their neighborhood. Members of the community are sponsoring additional transformer cabinet
murals and we have had more inquiries. We also had artist Werner Schreiber paint a transformer
cabinet mural at the Xeriscape Garden Party in June.
This program, now in its seventeenth year, is a graffiti mitigation program and saves tens of thousands
of dollars a year in City mitigation costs. The program also enhances our community creating a buzz of
interest about Fort Collins locally, regionally, and nationally. The Transformer Mural Cabinet program
has completed 377 unique murals to date. Learn more at fcgov.com/cabinets.
15 Pedestrian Sidewalk Pavers
In 2022, we will be producing fifteen granite pedestrian pavers to be
installed in City sidewalks. Drawings are solicited early in the year from
local children ages 3–18. Selected drawings are sandblasted into 16"
square granite pavers. This project with the City’s Engineering and Streets
Departments started in 2002. We have produced 272 youth pavers to
date. See all the pavers at fcgov.com/pavers.
Chelsea Ermer Larry Tucci
13 Pianos About Town Murals
• Working pianos are placed around town for the
community to discover and play, adding color and
spontaneous musical happenings to Fort Collins.
• Twelfth year of a collaborative project of Bohemian
Foundation, Downtown Development Authority, and APP.
• Eleven artists will paint murals on pianos downtown
through early October and two artists will paint in inside
locations over the winter. Twelve of the thirteen artists are
new to the program this season.
• 145 pianos have been painted as part of the program so
far, with another thirteen this year.
Learn more at fcgov.com/pianos
Artist Becca Black painting her mural in June.
Jennifer Ivanovic
Select 2022 Transformer Cabinet Mural Concepts:
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COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES & OUTREACH
The APP program forges partnerships and provides a range of public engagement opportunities. The
program partners with the community and local businesses to expand the presence of art in Fort Collins .
• The APP website has project information and
images, downloadable maps, and walking tours.
• The public can sign up for APP updates and
artist opportunities newsletters.
• APP staff improved access to our collection by
adding new online public art tours.
• Staff continues to advise cities/programs on our
public art program as well as Transformer
Cabinet Mural and Pianos About Town.
• APP staff hosted two successful Virtual Open
Houses to engage new artists in January. Virtual
Open Houses were also held to orient selected
artists for upcoming projects.
• We continued our promotions for the Pianos
About Town and Transformer Cabinet Murals to
community organizations.
• Staff continues to promote project information
to the community prior, during, and after
installation of new artwork.
• Every year the Art in Public Places Program
coordinates projects that engage our
community. These projects include murals
painted by neighborhoods and community
groups, sponsored cabinet murals, and granite
pavers sandblasted with youth drawings.
• Staff gave presentations to the Culture Club,
PEO International, and Leadership Fort Collins.
• Staff was interviewed about the Pianos About
Town program for KSCU, 7 News and Colorado
Public Radio.
• APP artists Dan Huling and Todd Kundla hosted
a First Friday reception to share details of their
temporary Birdhouse Village installation at the
Gardens on Spring Creek. They were also
featured in The Garden’s Dig In publication.
• Staff conducted outreach with the
Neighborhood Services Department in the Tres
Colonias Neighborhoods regarding Joshua
Weiner’s proposed artwork for the Vine and
Lemay Overpass and the upcoming community
art project nearby.
• Artist Werner Schreiber painted a Transformer
Cabinet Mural during the Utilities Xeriscape
Garden Part at City Hall in June.
Artist Werner Schreiber painting a Transformer Cabinet
Mural at the Xeriscape Garden Party in June.
Artists Dan Huling and Todd Kundla speak at the First Friday
opening reception of their temporary Birdhouse Village
exhibit at the Gardens on Spring Creek.
2022 Transformer Cabinet Mural artists meet virtually.
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2022 APP PROJECT MAP
View online at: http://bit.ly/APP-Projects
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