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2022-02-07 Arts Commission MInutesedmonds ARTS COMMISSION MINUTES - Meeting via Zoom 4:45 pm February 7, 2022 The Edmonds Arts Commission: dedicated to the arts, an integral part of community life. City of Edmonds Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Department PRESENT: Rhonda Soikowski Lesly Kaplan STAFF AUDIENCE Ashley Song Lisa Palmatier Frances Chapin Kelley McHenry, Inae Piercy, Harry Kirchner Tanya Sharp Laurie Rose Jennifer Kuhn, Chris Cossu, Joe Richard Chung Doug Merriman Mclalwain, Nora Carlson, Julaine EXCUSED: Georgia Livesey Fleetwood, Clark Wiegman The meeting was called to order at 4:45 PM by Rhonda Soikowski. Soikowski read the land acknowledgement. "We acknowledge the original inhabitants of this place, the Sdohobsh (Snohomish) people and their successors the Tulalip Tribes, who since time immemorial have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken care of these lands. We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and we honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and water."- City Council Land Acknowledgment ADDITIONS/CHANGES TO THE AGENDA — Comments will be taken via Chat for the two presentations, with Audience Comment at the end if there are other comments. MINUTES —Approval of Jan 3, 2022 minutes, Kaplan Moved to approve, Palmatier Seconded, Approved. PUBLIC COMMENT/INTRODUCTIONS— Welcome to audience, and welcome to new Commissioner Kirchner. REPORTS - A. Creative Programs Floretum Garden Club Art Proposal — Kelley McHenry introduced the artist Jennifer Kuhn, giving a little background on the project to place a mosaic artwork at 61" & Bell St on the SE corner of the Public Safety Complex site. The Floretum Garden Club is the oldest garden club in the state, founded in 1922, and over the years has made many contributions to the City. Floretum means place of flowers and to celebrate the 1001" anniversary the club wanted to create a permanent artwork that expressed "garden". Jennifer was selected through a competitive process. Working with a metal artist Abe Singer, she has developed a design with three sculptural components, flowers sitting in the bed. The metal framework supports glass mosaic panels that form the petals, celebrating nature and the reciprocity of gardens with colorful and joyful patterns. The maximum height allowable for the space per City code is 36" and the three elements will be slightly different sizes and heights. The base is set into the ground with metal support and concrete. Commissioners responded enthusiastically, also asking about maintenance. Kuhn noted that maintenance is minimal, she uses materials that will easily withstand the frost/warming cycle for the long term, and can be easily cleaned of most things from general grime to painted vandalism, and the pieces are repairable if needed. They are close to the sidewalk and benches and Commissioners liked the way they add interest and color to the site, and are close to the new Civic Park. The spatial arrangement of the three elements will be finalized by the artist once the pieces are fabricated. Sharp Moved and Kirchner Seconded that the proposed mosaic artwork be recommended for acceptance to the City Public Art Collection by the City Council, Approved. Edmonds Arts Commission Minutes — 2/07/2022 2 Civic Park Art Concept — Chapin introduced Wiegman who was selected for the Civic Park public art project last fall. Wiegman has met with a number of community groups, and presented at both the Diversity Commission and Youth Commission as well as at a community meeting. He noted that easy going in -person dialogue with the community is more difficult during Covid, but presentations seemed well -received and he has had some good conversations online and in person. His written narrative about the concept he calls cascadia, outlines the background of the project and his evolving ideas about the relationship or dialogue between a 2D work and a 3D suspended artwork. Wiegman has multiple secondary ideas about ways to enliven the space and knit together the concepts that could be pursued in the future, but the secondary ideas are not part of the current budget. One piece related to community engagement that could be implemented is a website or blog that tracks the project and invites the community to engage with their input about what in the natural environment makes this a special place. Wiegman described his work as environmentally focused, looking at the land and water transitions. He sees this project as a celebration of the park as a crown jewel of the many green spaces and waterways in Edmonds. His goal is to create a sense of scale, both larger and small, with an installation that is bold, high impact; colorfully vibrant; warm and inviting; hearthlike; reflects mapping and patterning; day and night presence; and honors the natural environment. The art installation site, identified by the landscape architects in the master plan, is a large shelter adjacent to the restrooms with the wall of the restrooms at the east end. The cascadia concept Wiegman has created is a 3D lifeboat suspension in dialogue with a 2D seawall. He sees the suspended artwork as a metaphoric vessel, not literally a specific boat, but an iconic archetypal form. What is on the surface of the form is primary, is what draws people in. Wiegman sees seawall as a reference to the regional biome and the special relationship Edmonds has with the surrounding environment, and lifeboat as a beacon which represents our situation as humans related to local environment, with oars which capture the feeling of how it moves through space, the geometry of rowing and flight. The seawall graphics focus on the topography of place with much to be discovered in the patterning. The specifics of what is included in the imagery will evolve from the call and response with the community about the web of life. The project is still in the conceptual phase with more design development to be completed for the final design (with exact public -input lifeboat patterning and seawall mapping finalized as part of the fabrication phase). Discussion followed. Commissioner comments included enthusiasm about the interest in the "mash up" of the idea, the sense of motion conveyed, the multi -sensory appeal, celebration of teamwork and way it calls up many different images; liking the vibrant use of color; and the sense of discovery in the graphics with multiple layers of imagery giving people many things to think about which includes the community of all ages. Commissioners asked questions about construction, boat structure, vandalism, materials, sound components (birds, water...), and how the community would be involved. Wiegman discussed materials (use of vinyl graphics, fiberglass, aluminum, stainless steel, RGB LED lighting and industrial mp3 players) and the importance of base project site and spot -lighting which will enhance artwork visibility and contribute to the experience of the suspension as a safe and welcoming place day and night. He acknowledged concerns about durability, maintenance and potential vandalism are on his radar screen, have been successfully navigated in numerous previous projects and will be fully addressed during design development and CDs/engineering review phases. Commissioners suggested that Wiegman look closely at traditional indigenous boat designs to be sure that the life boat form while called generic is not accidentally using an image very close to a specific indigenous design. To that end it was noted that the Suquamish Museum has a large indigenous canoe suspended on exhibit (other suspended boats include rowing shells at UW). Wiegman expressed awareness of the potential issue of cultural appropriation, stressing that the form is generic and universal, representing an archetypal human -powered vessel, and that this boat form serves as a canvas for graphic flora/fauna elements. Commissioners want to make sure there is a plaque that tells the story in part and refers to more information on the website. The budget for the artwork is for lifeboat and seawall elements, including internal boat lighting (spotlights are part of the base project budget) and possibly sound, but Wiegman is willing to be a resource to help get secondary projects (ceramic tiles on benches, petanque grove poetry, plantings etc.) off the ground if Edmonds Arts Commission Minutes — 2/07/2022 3 possible. Commissioners expressed appreciation for a project scope of work charged with ambitious civic goals within an acknowledged modest budget. The next step is a Zoom public meeting in which Wiegman will present his concept for community comment. 3. On the Fence Recommendation — Palmatier reported that the review committee under the new process included herself, Song and Kaplan. Exhibits are for 6 months. Priority was given to artists whose proposals used the fence as a canvas. The Commission had already agreed that Floretum Garden Club could use the fence March — August and Chapin will contact them about the proposal by Mona Smiley -Fairbanks. Three additional artists were selected to complete the schedule. Palmatier showed the proposals by Tsovinar Muradyan, Christina Caravaglio, and Sophia Fang. Soikowski Moved recommendations for OTF be approved, Song Seconded, Approved. Staff will review and finalize locations before contacting the artists. Commissioners inquired about the possibility of additional fences in the future and staff will explore. 4. Literary Arts/Poetry Project — Kaplan welcomed new Commissioner Kirchner and thanked him for jumping right in to participate on the WOTS steering committee. The potential keynote is not able to participate this year so they are back to the drawing board for a keynote. She thanked Soikowski for suggesting the adopted name, Poet's Perspective, and said the judging will take place after the Feb 24 deadline with 3 commissioners and up to two outside judges. Poems will be posted in April for National Poetry month. Rose mentioned that the Best Book Poster Exhibit is underway with a few posters submitted already. C. Funding & Administration STAFF REPORT— Chapin reported that City buildings are scheduled to reopen on March 16. NEW/OTHER BUSINESS — Adjourned: 6:41 pm