Agenda Item Name:
Title
Select Art for the West Lawn of the County Administration Building
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Presenter:
Gina Peebles, 352-538-8265
Description:
Select Art for the West Lawn of the County Administration Building
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Select Duende Builds as the top ranked art submittal as recommended by the Selection Committee at their April 5 meeting, or any other submission the Board may prefer.
Authorize staff to issue a purchase order to the winning artist to commence work.
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Prior Board Motions:
Oct. 13, 2020 - selected Heidi Stein’s “Gainesville Megaphone” as the winning concept for the revised Call-to-Artist.
Jul. 14, 2020 - authorize a $1,000 prize for the Arts Council to hold a contest for the concept of the art project on the west lawn. The winning concept will go out for bid to artist to create a piece consistent with the winning concept.
Jun. 23, 2020 - defer this discussion until the Jul. 14 Commission meeting.
Jan. 14, 2020 - approve the use of reserves as funding and grant Procurement permission to issue a Call to Artists to acquire art for both the west lawn and south wall within FY20.
Aug. 13, 2019 - Authorize staff to advertise final version with the Board’s previous guidance that the Board is not looking to recognize or honor individuals, specific political concepts, or historical events be included so artist can respond appropriately.
June 25, 2019 - Approval of the Arts Council of Alachua County Strategic Plan, which includes funding for the West Lawn Statue in the amount of $25,000.
April 16, 2019 - The Board had a general discussion during their April 16 Budget meeting about the statue, the status of the Call to Artists, and its funding.
May 23, 2017 - refer to the County Manager for recommendations on the following:
1. To Proceed with the empowerment of art review group as described and bring it to the Board as soon as it is ready.
2. The budget for the art will be discussed during the budget process.
3. The artist Search is not restricted to local artist community.
4. A Public Hearing should be held in the evening at the next convenient date so those citizens can propose concepts for the art. The Board is not looking to recognize/honor individuals, specific political concepts, or historical events but more of a concept of idea that is uplifting for everyone.
Fiscal Consideration:
Fiscal Consideration
Not to exceed $37,550
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Background:
Since 2017, the County Commission has expressed interest in art to replace the Confederate Soldier statue formerly located on the existing 12x12 concrete slab located on the West Lawn of the County Administration Building.
The first Call to Artists for this project resulted in no submittals. The Board of County Commissioners increased the budget for our second Call to Artists, but chose to reject all submittals and hold a contest to allow citizens to submit their concept for the third Call to Artists scope. “The Gainesville Megaphone - a place to amplify aspirations and truly listen to the community” was the winning concept and a $1,000 award was given to Heidi Stein from the project budget for her winning concept.
The desire of the Board was to choose a work that depicts the importance of government aspiring to listen to the voice of its citizens. A total of 18 submittals were received and evaluated by the Selection Committee, comprised of Arts Council members and Communications and Legislative Affairs Director, Mark Sexton. The highest ranked submittal was Duende Builds. However, the Commission has the opportunity to choose any of the 18 submittals, or reject all bids.
Copies of all submittals are available by contacting Alachua County Procurement.