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Home My WebLink About1H OCRDecember 10, 2020 To: City Council, City Manager From: Ann Sheffer, Chair, Public Arts Commission Re: Report on Public Arts Commission Programs during COVID-19 At our meeting in February 2020, the Public Arts Commission approved a program of Mini- Grants (up to $5000) to help Downtown businesses affected by COVID-19 closures. The timing of this program allowed the Commission to respond quickly to requests from businesses -and also encouraged programs in other parts of the City through neighborhood associations (ONE PS) and community groups. We ~re pleased to report that between March 15 and November 15, we were able, though the Mini-Grants, to commission artists to paint more than 50 benches downtown, in conjunction with Main Street Palm Springs --which meant that, with the addition of storefront projects with more than 12 businesses, we were able to pay more than 60 artists. Also, we began a robust program of working with the Parks and Rec Department, have contributed to other Downtown initiatives, and developed a social media program that drew hundreds of followers. We were able to do this by contracting with arts professionals to work with Public Arts Commissioners, to create, manage, and report on the ever-expanding programs of the Commission. Not only has this cost the Public Art Fund less than having City staff, we have benefitted from the experience and artistic expertise of the contractors we work with. We are also committed to creating a comprehensive inventory of the City's collection of public art, and developing a plan to maintain, repair, and document/label them to make them more accessible and relevant to the public. Reports on all these programs are attached -and we look forward to bringing even more Public Art to Palm Springs and contributing to the City's revival, as we work to put the pandemic behind us. We hope you enjoy seeing the joyfulness and optimism that these projects engender! IT£!:,~ NO. _1_._t\ __ _ 2 3"MAKING ART PUBLIC" SERIES" We continued publishing our series of Artist Talks hosted by PS Public Arts Commissioner Shawnda Thomas Faveau. Ou1 -goal with this series 1s to use th i s space to an1plify loca l a r t i sts · v o ices and sha1·e resources for artists . ' .t-~: 4!!• ~ ' -. It,. \'t_ .. ~ .. :- [jJ ••Making Art Public" with Tysen Knight -ihlngs can tum around, we can't always fight ignorance with Ignorance_ But we can't let people push us over elther._Findlng that fine line where that you don't let people treat you unjust and at the same time .... You don't want to treat Ignorance with ignorance where our message gets lost.• -Tysen Knight Click here to watch the videos .. •ith 2111st !l.•1c, ~ .;.-. ·. 4lt ~·11• "· ' •\ .-·~·· f• ' . .tj . ·. t ' I:'\ •. "~· ' ~1~1 ~--~-~\~ 0 Making Art Public" with artist Marconi Calindas- Cafege •Fortunately, I kinda stood out a little bit because of my passion and advocacy for the LGBT community. That became my subject for my art. So from equality to bullying to marriage equality, that's what I created.• -Marconi Callndas-Cafege ~l 4li ·:::,it • • 0< d.,,,-.. " ·,., ... 9_ . ..:. .. .,1th 21t1sI r.'. ••Making Art Public" with artist Mister Alek , try to focus on community leaders and people that influence me and influence others, people that can relate to the community, and people that have done good things in life.· -Mister Alek 4Airport ''Pilot" Bench Project Call for Artists Scope of Project The Palm Springs Public Arts Commission is excited to the main entrance of the Palm Springs International Ai We encourage artists to propose a design for a single b benches. The selection committee will be made up of b~""~ Commissioners. Deadline for photoshop mockups for designs is Oct,= Please see the budget guidelines and a photoshop ima All artists are asked to create an Artist Profile on our The project will be supervised by Tysen Knight, who pai materials, protective coating, and skateboard guards. ".•:., OI:11 ' ,,. 4. - ~ (IL]] Airport II Pilot 11 Bench Project Call for artists The Palm Springs Public Arts Commission announced om pilot project for 8 benches located at the main entrance of the Palm Springs International Airport terminal. It was an open call for artists who wanted to be considered fm this phase of the project. W e created a page on the webs ite and a video campaign on Social Media with Tysen Knight and Commissioner Russel Pritchard to promote this. Watch the video Visit the Call for artists P-ag~ 54-u +--' 0 OJ u l/) t OJ +--' ro ·o C +--' L ro l/) o_ --5 C _c L Q U OJ V) C ~ l/) OJ +--' E .D QJ E C ~ O S 1/) u 8 C V) +--' (() L ~ <( C s 0 u u OJ -_c .D u f--:J OJ _co.... c ·s: t.o ro > C o_ C ·;:: _tJ 0 Q_ l/) +--' LI) +-' ~ E ~ 0 ::: .D ro OJ ro o.... _c QJ +--' 0 _c 4-u +-' 0 C -OJ . -l/) l/) u D.O ro C C _c ro ~ o_ 4--LI) u Q L C E _c o ro +--' ·-0.... QJ +--' _c ro C +--' :J s C 0 +-' +--' C C 8 s ro o u 0 ...--.. ·--, l/) OJ ..Y. <( ~ E .D 0 _c L +--' 4--~ C 0 Ln >-u C C ro ro u l/) E -6 ro ro 0.... .D _c +--' ..._, :J L Q 0 _c z .:::'. C S 0 l/) u OJ OJ _c +--' u ro C u OJ 0 .D l/) ._-OJ ,;-_c ----u _c C ro QJ > .D QJ "° --5 ..-ro u f--QJ 0 u +--' :J Q_ u :J C OJ l/) ro _c Cl. :!f••Q.1-~ZZ>--a: c., a. LLI LIJ-L> ~!!P-1,.. C U> • O l.. C) I.LI :z: 6 7lnstagram Total Followers as of Today 2,857 •••••• •• •• . . .Cff't'O#-Aat.M""'IIC,$. : PUBLIC ARTS : • COMMISSION • • • • • .. .. ...... -::----________ __ .~) 1, ,,,....__ ~~ •overn1;e, I ;>•s2 PA,, , ' Art Benches Comings ... pspublicarts -• ··· 494 posts 2,857 followers 543 following Palm Springs Arts Commission Get an inside scoop on what the commission is working on! and Artists in Palm Springs. #pspublicarts Tag us in your p linktr.ee/pspub licarts Followed by jolgoriofutbolero, brushmayo, greggfletcherrealtor +2 more Lately New Murals! Graffiti Park lffl POSTS 8 IGTV @ TAGGED 8~""'IJ]n,11""."r~L.• • -'."-, ~,?.: ~~) r_._;••·: .. -.• .. :--' ,tr·; f ~' --• :s. ~ . i .} : : : .... t• : . /· 11 Diad We celebrated the ·bayof the Dead at Victoria Park! Attendees contributed to a community altar to" honor the memory of our lost loved ones. This event was developed by the Parks and 'Recreation Commission in collaboration with the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission. 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": l~~? ,·-.. •• --:,.1 :. .,,;_;; fu i ·,ii'.J ! :: \9'<,~-~~ ~ ._, I-'• • er - O' Palm Springs Public Arts Commission @pspublicarts • Community ..... ..,, . ' + Add a Button Hom e Events About More • .-Promote 0 View as Visitor Insights See All Last 28 days : Nov 3 -Nov 30 • f.~,~~~\ l~J ~~!!P" Create Post Q. 9,173 f~ PhotoNideo O Get Messages Q) Feeling/Activity People Reached Post Engagements 1,788 Create CII Live ~ Event e Offer ii Job s 11••••• •• • ••• • • : WusL1elRT°s : • COMMISSION • • • • • •• • • •••••• 2020 CITY BENC PROJECTS 4 DIFFERENT BENCH PROJECTS • Airport "Pilot" Program • Main Street Benches Phase I • Main Street Benches Phase II • Main Street Benches Phase Ill 101 ART SUBMISSIONS 101 unique art submissions were turned In by artists for projects under our City Bench Program. Approximately 75 different artists, some artists submitted to different programs twice. 55 GRANTED ARTISTS Out of the 101 art submissions, our juries have awarded 55 designs to win under the City Bench Program. These 55 designs have been hand-painted designs on benches by local artists to benefit Main Street and PS International Airport. $55,000 Approximately $55,000 will be granted to artists under the City Bench Program by the end of 2020. All artists awarded the grant funds are local and their artworks are to benefit local business. 110• ARTIST PROFILES Our Art Community and network continues to build. We now have over 100 artists signed up to our Artist Registry. These are all local artists that we can continue to pull from for future programs. SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT The City Benches have been very popular on our social media accounts. Likes and post sharing of benches have increased, bringing awareness to the Arts Commission and City support. nto compned by Scene Creative LLC 12NEWS RELEASE MAIN STRHT e -µ1mt5~J DOWNTOWN UPTOWN BUSINF.SS ASSOCIATION MEDIA Contact: O'Bayley Communications-Bob Bogard 760-778-3525 • bob@obayley.net or Main Street Palm Springs-Joy Brown Meredith 760-333-6820 • info@palmcanyondrive.org MAIN STREET PALM SPRINGS RECEIVES GRANT FROM PUBLIC ARTS COMMISSION TO BEAUTIFY PALM CANYON Grant Will Fund Local Artists to Transform Benches into Works of Art PALM SPRINGS -July 6, 2020: Main Street Palm Springs, the city of Palm Springs' Downtown and Uptown Business Association, announced that it has received a grant from the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission to fund a new program that will call upon local artists to paint selected public benches on Palm Canyon Drive. The artists will be compensated for their work by Public Arts Commission funds which come from contributions by local developers and are restricted to be used only for public arts projects. A trial program for beautifying the benches was recently conducted where ten benches were painted by local artist Tysen Knight. It was so well received that the program has been expanded and Knight will now oversee the transformation of the next ten benches by nine local artists (one artist will paint two benches). Palm Springs Public Arts Commission worked closely with Main Street Palm Springs on this civic improvement campaign. They issued a call for designs earlier this year and nine artists were selected. The benches are located at various locations on Palm Canyon Drive, and artists will paint the benches in the next few weeks. "The existing benches on Palm Canyon Drive are frequently used by residents and visitors, but they are very outdated in appearance," said Jeffrey Bernstein, Main Street Board Member and owner of Destination PSP, a popular Palm Canyon retail store. "Rather than replacing these expensive benches, Main Street Palm Springs decided to help our local artists by providing Public Arts Commission grants to beautify them. We are so pleased that this project will brighten up Palm Canyon for all who shop and dine here." The artists selected to participate are Marconi Calindas, Shanah Chomsinsub, Zach Fleming, Michael Foss, Kylie Knight, Rich Rodriguez, Ernesto Ramirez, Patrick Sheehan, and QWestOwen. Ramirez will paint two benches. "We are so pleased that the Public Arts Commission has been able to issue these civic improvement grants to Main Street to employ local artists," said Ann Sheffer, Public Arts Commissioner. "Arranging these beautification projects during this pandemic is similar 13Main Street Public Arts Commission Grants, page 2 to the fantastic Public Works of Art Project that took place during the Great Depression of the 1930s. We are delighted to work with Main Street Palm Springs on this exciting project." In addition to the Main Street benches, the Public Arts Commission is launching a Mini-Grant program to match artists with local business owners to create art installations in vacant storefront windows and at sidewalks, crosswalks, and patios. These projects are intended to enliven the streets and draw people to Downtown as it reopens. In keeping with the Commission's theme of 'Art Is Everywhere,' these Mini-Grants will also be available to neighborhood organizations with the goal of bringing public art to all neighborhoods, parks, and communities in the city. Details of both programs, and a registry of artists, can be found on the Commission's website at pspublicarts.com. About Main Street Palm Springs Founded in 1992, Main Street Palm Springs is the city's official local Downtown and Uptown Palm Springs business association and is administered by Joy Brown Meredith. It includes eight board members that represent various businesses and regions of the downtown area. # # # 14E ro C: Q) co •-t:: Q) co 15C ca e, 0 ::E (I) C ca •-0 16C: co e> 0 ~ Q) C: co •-0 17C: •--..c ::J 0 0 .. .. ~ C: C: ro ~ --Q) ::J C: ro E E w 18E en 19E CtS a::: 0 +-' en Q) C: ~ w 20z 0 § ..: ... z i w. 0 ~ ... ... 0 ;;; ... z 0 ... 0 ;;; N Q) ::J 0-en ~ I 0 C: •-""C C: ro -cc ~ ..c ..c ro (9 21 22!Jess1ca Frederick 23(.) •-CL > Q) =, 24 250 C: •-> Q) '-I-I C/J •-""C ""C co (!) 260 C: •-> Q) L. I-I en •-""C ""C ro (9 27Kathleen Tanen 28en ca "'C C •--ca u C 0 t) '-ca ~ 29N (I) Lo. E ro 0::: ro (.) C: 0 ::E 30Q) C) ro a.. C: :::, ro ..c en 31C) C ·-E (I) -LL ..c: (.) ro N 32cit N T"' U) m Cl) . . ... Q) m ~ .c ... -0 ~ "' C -~ Q) 0 "' ns m ~ co 0 0 ns 0 +J co z >-DO Q) ~ ril )JS!.U?UH?J.. 33Phase 3 -PSPAC Benches Project Artist Placement ~ Shaun Paige <I) 0.. g- ,.c: C/) "'O <I) ~ N +,J •r-4 & ~ ~ Zach Flemming JeaaycaF. ~ .E :J Chic's Dylan Smith - Bill's Pizza ~ ~ ... .'. ;; Berkshire Hathaway Ernesto Ramirez r:n ~ ~ (1) < ~ Quadz , --........ "" ,.. ~ ' -... '. '=·· .. -' . ~' Indian Canyon Dr. Palm Canyon Dr. I Crepes Tutti Frutti • t,,.. .... •• :-1. - : g,~(/:~-, ~:. _;{~ Gabby B. ~ 0 ti) • ,-4 ~ ~ ~ RioAzul Monica Ramirez BevMo Kathleen Toner Bus Stop ~ 0 8 ~ ~ H3K JevPic 34•••••• •• •• • • • • : Pusuc ARr~ : • COMMISSION • • • • •• • • •••••• WINDOW COVERINGS -PAINT At the beginning of Covid the Public Arts Commission helped to cover up empty storefronts with local artist paintings. Five local artists were selected to paint the five closed businesses. WINDO COVERINGS .. STICKERS Three local artists will be using their artwork as a temporary sticker covering for businesses that are currently open and/or soon to be in operation. These stickers are easy to put up and take down. SCULPTURES 3 different artists sculptures were purchased by the Public Arts Commission. They sculptures will help to bring awareness to merchant areas and small businesses. One sculpture project will come to fruition in February 2021. ARTISTS C.A.R.E.S. Public Art Grant was able to work with and pay 20 different artists to make these temporary art installations happen. BUSINESSES • ORGANIZATIONS The C.A.R.E.S. Public Art Grant worked with 9 local businesses and 3 local non-profit organizations. ARTIST DIRECTORY Our Art Community and network continues to build. We now have over 100 artists signed up to our Artist Registry. These are all local artists that we can continue to pull from for future programs. info compiled by Scene Creative LLC 35Coachellart PO Box 414 Palm Springs, CA 92263 REF: PO 21-0363-0 LOCATION: Sunrise Park REF: Coachellart invoice# 003 Concrete Park Bench #1 (Before and After) Before photo: Bench #01 Nov. 1,020 36Final photo: Bench #01 Day of the Dead Altar-Victoria Park Before photo 37Final photo of completed altar 38Before photo: Bench #02 After photo: Bench #02 39In progress photo (with student volunteer) Bench #02 Final photo: Trash receptacle #02 40Before photo: Bench & trash receptacle #03 After photo: Bench & trash receptacle #03 41Before photo: Bench #04 After photo: Bench #04 42Before photo: Bench #05-City Pool 43After photo: Bench #05-City Pool Before photo: Bench #06-City Pool 44After Photo: Bench #06-City Pool Paint & Materials Receipt(s). 45Palm Springs Public Arts Commission Mission Statement The Palm Springs Public Arts Commission is dedicated to the cultural enrichment of our civic environment in its role as an advocate for the arts in the City of Palm Springs. The goal of the Commission is to consciously integrate the hearts and culture into the fabric of the city to ensure access to a growing cultural heritage that enhances the experience of life in Palm Springs for all ofour residents and visitors. This is accomplished through the thoughtful selection, presentation, and support of the arts. To strengthen the role of the arts and culture in city government, the Public Arts Commission supports and develops arts and cultural programs that encourage community participation, visitor attraction, economic development, and cultural partnerships in order to grow the identity of Palm Springs as an innovative and creative community. Palm Springs Public Arts Commission programs acknowledge the history of our city, complement the beauty of the natural environment, and reflect the worldwide recognition of Palm Springs as a premier destination. Adopted June 9, 2016 In addition, the Public Arts Commission has defined its vision and priorities and articulated specific goals for the plan. These six goals incorporate the combined theme of civic leadership and improved communications with the community as the fundamental platform upon which more arts activity can take place in Palm Springs. The goals are: 1. Raise visibility of arts and culture in Palm Springs. 2. Use arts and culture to encourage community participation and neighborhood beautification. 3. Use arts and culture to encourage visitor attraction and economic development. 4. Grow and support Palm Springs' identity as an innovative and creative community. 5. Advance the role of arts and culture in city government by working with other commissions and departments 6. Use art as an educational tool to address social and cultural barriers. This is accomplished by consciously integrating the arts and culture in the daily life of the people of Palm Springs through urban development, planning, economic development, and education. 46AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS PUBLIC ART NETWORK COUNCIL: GREEN PAPER page 1 Why Public Art Matters Cities gain value through public art -cultural, social, and economic value. Public art is a distinguishing part of our public history and our evolving culture. It reflects and reveals our society, adds meaning to our cities and uniqueness to our communities. Public art humanizes the built environment and invigorates public spaces. It provides an intersection between past, present and future, between disciplines, and between ideas. Public art is freely accessible. Cultural Value and Community Identity American cities and towns aspire to be places where people want to live and want to visit. Having a particular community identity, especially in terms of what our towns look like, is becoming even more important in a world where everyplace tends to looks like everyplace else. Places with strong public art expressions break the trend of blandness and sameness, and give communities a stronger sense of place and identity. When we think about memorable places, we think about their icons -consider the St. Louis Arch, the totem poles of Vancouver, the heads at Easter Island. All of these were the work of creative people who captured the spirit and atmosphere of their cultural milieu. Absent public art, we would be absent our human identities. Economic Value and Regeneration As has been witnessed throughout history, public art can be an essential element when a municipality wishes to progress economically and to be viable to its current and prospective citizens. Data strongly indicates that cities with an active and dynamic cultural scene are more attractive to individuals and business. Public art can be a key factor in establishing a unique and culturally active place. Public art can create civic icons, but it also can transform our playgrounds, train stations, traffic circles, hospitals, water treatment facilities, and airports into more vibrant expressions of human imagination. By building and reinforcing community culture, public art can act as a catalyst for community generation or regeneration. In this case, size does not necessarily matter. Public art can be very visible, large, permanent and unmistakable as an art experience; but it can also be very subtle, short lived or seamlessly integrated into one's experience of a place. Public art matters. 47AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS PUBLIC ART NETWORK COUNCIL: GREEN PAPER page 2 What to do? Creative Collaboration To some degree, every public art project is an interactive process involving artists, architects, administrators, design professionals, community residents, civic leaders, elected officials, approval agencies, funding agencies, and construction teams. What to do? Partnerships and Opportunities Historically, public art partnerships have been fruitful sources of cultural expression and social practice, as well as catalysts for revenue and urban regeneration. Broadly speaking, partnerships can include private developers or funders, infrastructure consortia, museums and galleries, educational institutions, transportation systems or private industry. Interdisciplinary opportunities can blur boundaries among cultural-visual-performative art, design, decoration, and technology. What to do? Education, Engagement and Evaluation We know that learning happens when we ask questions, and public art prompts vital and primary questions about our environment and ourselves. Public art can encourage a broad range of learning opportunities, from didactic to aesthetic. Educational programs and interpretive opportunities can form the basis for evaluation methodologies that help us understand and engage our public art audiences. Equilibrium on the edge Public art does something that neither a public space without art nor even a museum with all its art can do: it can capture the eye and mind of someone passing through our public spaces. It can make us pay attention to our civic environment; it can encourage us to question what's around us. Much of our newly built environment lacks the resonance of history or reflection of civic ownership, which makes residents proud of where they live. Carefully conceived public art installations and environments, rich with connections to our history, the natural world or the ephemeral quality of life, help make places of meaning within a community. Art can celebrate the qualities that make one place different from another. The best of public art can challenge, delight, educate and illuminate. Most of all, public art creates a sense of civic vitality in the cities, towns and communities we inhabit and visit. Excerpted from Americans for the Arts Green Paper on Public Art