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Home My WebLink About 05.18.23 Public Art Committee Agenda Public Art Committee Meeting Agenda May18, | 3:00 p.m. | In-person and Remote Meeting nd The meeting will be held in Council Chambers on the 2 floor of the Historic City Hall. The entrance is the first door on Madison Street, which opens to the elevator. Join virtually via computer or tablet at http://joinwebinar.com enter the 9-digit Webinar ID 729-067-131 Join by phone in listen-only mode: (360) 390-5064 ext. 6 access code: 496-365-513# Submit public comment emails to be included in the meeting record to: publiccomment@cityofpt.us I. Call to Order II. Roll Call III. Approval of Agenda IV. Approval of Minutes April 20, 2023 V. Public Comment (3 minutes per person) VI. Committee Business A. Review Task force progress B. Review Council’s letter VII. Correspondence VIII. Set Agenda for Next Meeting IX. Next Scheduled Meeting June 15, 2023 X. Adjourn From:Heidi Greenwood To:Lonnie Mickle Subject:FW: Comment for PAC meeting 5/18/2023 Date:Wednesday, May 17, 2023 3:51:14 PM From: Owen Rowe <owen@rowehouse.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2023 8:37 AM To: publiccomment@cityofpt.us Subject: Comment for PAC meeting 5/18/2023 CAUTION: External Email Hi Lonnie, This is a comment for the meeting of the Public Art Committee on Thurs, May 18th. Dear Public Art Committee, I watched the last PAC meeting online (4/20/23). Towards the end of the meeting, there was some discussion of the Port Townsend Creative District, including several questions and speculative answers. As a member of the Port Townsend Creative District Steering Committee, I am writing to provide accurate information. Q. Why doesn’t the PT Creative District have generic ArtsWA highway signs like other Creative Districts? A. Generic ArtsWA highway signs are a requirement for all Washington Creative Districts, funded by the state with a match from each local Creative District itself. However, in Port Townsend’s case, several of the locations which WSDOT designated for installation of these signs are sites of planned WSDOT construction projects (e.g. intersection of SR 104/SR 19). WSDOT won’t install those signs until those projects are completed. After several administrative delays, WSDOT is expected to install one highway sign for the Port Townsend Creative District near the intersection of SR 20 and SR 19 this summer. Q. Why are there Creative District signs on stop signs and trail markers across town? A. The grant-funded Creative District wayfinding project marks the three physical sections of the Port Townsend Creative District (Downtown, Uptown, and the Fort Worden campus area). In addition to the five art markers, the project installed approximately 60 wayfinding signs along city streets and public trails to connect the three sections and to help people visiting the Creative District to find their way from one section to another. The trail signs were approved by City Council in 2021 as an integral part of the project and were installed by the city’s public works crew. There was also an assertion that Port Townsend Main Street “created” the Port Townsend Creative District. This is inaccurate. ArtsWA, the Washington State Arts Commission, first contacted the Port Townsend Arts Commission as early as 2015 to get PTAC’s input on the creation of a new statewide Creative District program, most closely following the successful model in Colorado. Several PTAC members attended those early discussions. When the legislature approved the ArtsWA program in 2017, ArtsWA encouraged Port Townsend to be among the first to apply for Creative District designation. Port Townsend artists and leaders, including members of PTAC and City Council, continued to meet throughout 2018 and 2019 to prepare an application. As part of that application process, the PTCD needed to designate an administrative sponsor for reporting and accounting purposes, and Port Townsend Main Street offered to serve in that role. The Port Townsend Creative District was certified as Washington’s sixth Creative District in May 2020. I’d also like to take this opportunity to encourage all members of the Public Art Committee—and all artists and creators you know—to complete the Creative District’s artist survey, to help us learn how the Creative District can best serve our local artists. The survey is linked on the PTCD website, https://ptcreativedistrict.org/ and can be accessed directly at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BJGP836. thank you Owen Rowe Member, Port Townsend Creative District Steering Committee 1June 1, 2023 2 3TO: Port Townsend City Council 4FROM: Port Townsend Arts Commission 5 6Dear Port Townsend City Council, 7 8After an analysis of the codes and policies that inform our government on the topic, and in 9consideration of the maintenance, liability, o 10the artists who create art for our city, it is the recommendation of the Port Townsend Arts Commission 11to the Port Townsend City Council and the City Manager that the five art marker-sculptures owned by 12PT Main Street that are currently sited on public property around town be removed from their current 13locations. 14 15Those portions of our municipal code that prescribe how public art is accessioned were not adhered to 16when Council voted unanimously on March 15, 2021 to give the go-ahead for the siting of the 17artworks. PTMC 3.50.060 requires that such projects are first presented to the Public Arts Committee 18(PAC) for review and then PACsrecommendations are forwarded to the Arts Commission before 19finally being presented to Council and the City Manager with our final recommendations. Further, city 20code requires that allpublic art projects use a selection process and public process which not only 21incorporates members of the Arts Commission, but also provides opportunities forcitizens to 22participate in the siting and installation of works of public art. Neither of these two procedures were 23followed. Also problematic in the selection of the sculptures is the fact that the art markers were juried 24by a group other than the Public Art Committee as required. PT Main Street's Creative District group 25held closed-door proceedings to select the art which is counter to the transparency and public process 26required by city code. 27 28Differing from some city staff's stance that since the art is privately owned, our public art polices don't 29apply to them; we respectfully disagree. Port Townsend's Art in Public Places Policy and Procedures 30adopted by Council in 2007 clearly defines Public Artworks 31artPublicly Owned Property 32-of-way). Clearly the art marker sculptures are 1 33public art, and no provision that we are aware of allowsfor the siting of privately owned art onorin 34the public right-of-way without first going through the art-accession procedures prescribed in PTMC 353.50 and via the Public Art Committee. 36 37City art policy further requires that every work of public art have a maintenance plan on file with the 38city to ensure regular care and repair of our public art. City staff has relied on the Creative District 39citizen group to monitor the sculpturesand rectifydamageas they see fit in an effort to extend the life 40of the markers through to their 20year-intended lifespan. However, in less than two years since their 41siting, graffiti, rogue embellishments to their surface textures and other more-wantonmutilationshave 42disfigured the works significantly and for weeks upon weeks without attempts being made toward 43proper maintenance, revealing either an apathy toward their repair by the appointed citizen- 44maintenance crews charged with their upkeep, or worse the acceptance of the modified art as the 45orksare evident affronts to the artist and 46all art appreciators, especially in a town that's as art-centric as we are. 47 48Repainting the sculptures green has unfortunately added insult to injury. Mr. Trople clearly indicated 49upon completionand presentationof his artworks that they were to be white and then weather in place 50for two decades. Adding layer upon layer of paint since thenhas and will continue to degrade the 51original surface texture intended by the artist, undermining the art itself. Repainting them green 52without his written permission (which he has denied providing) wasa short-sighted decision - 53disrespectful at the least and unlawful at the most: Our Public Art Policycites USC Section 100 54(United States Visual Rights Act of 1990) as a requirement applicable to the installationof public 55artworks in our city -the code is intended to provide basic copyright protection to help prevent the 56owners of an artwork from reproducing 57distortion, mutilation, or modification of \[a\] 58policy is clear in what can be done with public art once it's sited in town: A city may sell, trade, move 59or even destroy an artwork, but is statutorily prevented from altering it, as has been the case with 60Trople's art marker sculptures. 61 62One lastobservationswe feel we needto relay to Council and the City Manager is the concern about 63the placement of anydark art object in the middle of abusy walkwaywithout adequatenighttime 64illumination. We feel it'sjust a matter of time until a skateboarder or cyclist or inattentive pedestrian 2 65experiences a collisionwith one of thesculptures. 66 67We regret that these artworks were sited without members of the Arts Commission beingformally 68consulted as requiredto help guide the process. The problems associated with the works hasn't and 69won'tgoaway this conclusionseems obvious by now. And the apparent acceptance of clandestine 70modifications to their surface texture is justan unacceptable option in a town that respects art, artist, 71common courtesyand the law. Liability concerns related to copyright protection as well as physical 72injury remain and have actually been exacerbated by the mitigatingattempts to repaint themgreen. 73 74How our city leadersrespondto this letter will surely inform ourcitizenry how we stand on theissues 75we've brought to your attention and will help guideour city government in theaccession of future 76public artworks.Please know that you can rely on usfor high-caliber advice when called uponto help 77you andour town to avoid futurepublic artproblems. Your Arts Commission citizen board,consisting 78of experienced and knowledgeable arts professionals, werespecifically appointed toprovide such 79advice and toadminister this invaluable workfor our communityin the future. But for now,totake 80action towardreorientingour town's image as apro-art, pro-artist- 81recommendation that the Creative District art markers be removed from their current locations. 82 83Respectfully submitted, 84 85Nhattaleah Nichols, Arts Commission ChairSheila Long, Arts Commissioner 86Alexis Arrabito, Arts Commission Vice ChairKathie Meyer, Arts Commissioner 87Joe Gillard, Arts CommissionerCosmo Rapaport, Arts Commissioner 88Dan Groussman, Arts CommissionerLindsey Wayland, Arts Commissioner 89Sally Kiely, Arts Commissioner 90 91 3 From:Nhatt Nichols To:alexis.arrabito@gmail.com; Lonnie Mickle Subject:Underwater Sculpture and Angel of the Arts Date:Tuesday, May 30, 2023 4:27:14 PM CAUTION: External Email Hi Alexis and Lonnie, Please feel free to share this email with the commission. I spoke with Heidi about our role as advisors for the underwater sculpture garden. She believes that DNR is actually the body in charge of that project, and though we are welcome to have an opinion, it won't need to be approved by us. I also spoke with Micheal to get a better feel for what he would like from us. He mostly just wants us to be aware of what's happening off our shores. I had a really great conversation about the nature of art and community, and we're going to talk more about an event that would be an "opening" for the sculpture and would involve local artists and the marine science center. Right now, he's waiting for a date that the sculpture will be cast, and after that, he'll have about four months to plan an event with all of us. This feels like a positive step in building connections between local folks and people working on a national level. When I was reviewing our last meeting, I realized that I may not have asked to have Angel and Patron of the Arts discussed as part of the agenda. If you can add this on or roll it into the chair's update, I would appreciate it. Best wishes, N Nhatt Nichols www.nhattnichols.com