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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 1MFrom:Gayle Divine To:City Clerk Subject:E-Public Comment Date:Monday, April 10, 2023 7:42:31 AM NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. It’s the city council, I’ve read there is discussion to approve 300 k for an arts project along taquitz canyon As a resident and disabled member of The Swim Center , I believe all available funds should go the renovations and improving the swim center before we spend this kind of money on art projects The swim center needs extra money to hire staff at a higher rate so we do not have to compete with cities down valley , and our beautiful swim Centre is NOT handicap friendly Please allocate these funds where it is needed Thank you Gayle Divine Sent from my iPhone 04/10/2023 Public Comment Item 1M From:Gary Armstrong To:Cassandra Edney; City Clerk Cc:Grace Garner; Jeffrey Bernstein; Ron deHarte; Lisa Middleton; Christy Holstege; Jay Virata Subject:Re: Council Agenda item public comment--PSPAC: Pillars of Palm Springs Date:Thursday, April 6, 2023 6:06:08 PM NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. An addition to my previous statement, to clarify the process: -This installation will celebrate Palm Springs. -While there is a time for activist art, this is not the place. -The artists will be chosen based on their portfolio of previous work and their appropriateness for this commissioned piece. -There will be no sloganeering in the art. The approved equity, Serenity, Creativity etc, will be the only word on the piece. -Artists will not be able to switch out their assigned concept. -The artist will not be able to create anything that is not emblematic of the assigned equity word or places the word in a confrontational light eg, "Equality" spelled in bullet holes on a windshield. This will all be made clear in the application form, which will be approved by the City Manager prior to solicitation. Lastly, there will be many approval steps along the way, as well as vetting of the artists. There will be no surprises of what is being created or what the end result will be, before any money is spent. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions. Gary Armstrong Vice Chair, Palm Springs Public Arts Commission 917-304-2731 04/10/2023 Public Comment Item 1M On Apr 6, 2023, at 2:22 PM, Cassandra Edney <Cassandra.Edney@palmspringsca.gov> wrote: Thank you for your email. Your comments will be shared with the City Council and retained as part of the official record. Thank you, Cassandra Edney Deputy City Clerk City of Palm Springs 3200 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way Palm Springs, CA 92262 Direct: 760.323.8203 www.palmspringsca.gov <image001.png> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE - The preceding e-mail message (including any attachments) contains information that may be confidential, protected by the attorney- client privilege or other applicable privileges, protected by the right of privacy, or constitute other non-public information. It is intended to be conveyed only to the designated recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient of this message, please notify the sender by replying to this message and then delete it from your system. Use, dissemination, distribution, or reproduction of this message by unintended recipients is not authorized and may be unlawful. From: Gary Armstrong <garyarmstrong@me.com> Sent: Thursday, April 6, 2023 1:36 PM To: City Clerk <CityClerk@palmspringsca.gov> Cc: Grace Garner <Grace.Garner@palmspringsca.gov>; Jeffrey Bernstein <Jeffrey.Bernstein@palmspringsca.gov>; Ron deHarte <Ron.deHarte@palmspringsca.gov>; Lisa Middleton <Lisa.Middleton@palmspringsca.gov>; Christy Holstege <Christy.Holstege@palmspringsca.gov>; Jay Virata <Jay.Virata@palmspringsca.gov> Subject: Council Agenda item public comment--PSPAC: Pillars of Palm Springs NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. The Pillars of Palm Springs was conceived at last year’s "Special Joint Meeting with City Council & Appreciation Dinner" on June 21, 2022. 04/10/2023 Public Comment Item 1M At that meeting, as then Chair Tracy Merrigan and I were presenting the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission accomplishments and upcoming projects, former Councilmember Dennis Woods asked “What are your plans to replace the horses on Tahquitz Canyon Way? That is the first thing visitors to our city see!” I took that as a challenge. After some creative fermenting, I presented a rough concept to the PSPAC at our next meeting and the team workshopped slight variations of the end result. We all agreed that this would be our opportunity to define expectations of our city. The Arts Commission tossed around whether we have one artist do all six equities, (easier, but maybe less representative), six artists doing different interpretations of one concept (perhaps too repetitive and how do you choose one word?) and we ultimately settled on six distinct artists articulating six different equities. Creativity, Equality, Serenity, Diversity, Civility and Community (and we’re still torn between Community or simply, Unity) I then presented it to the Human Rights Commission for their buy in. Why? Because, as I stated at the Special Joint Meeting, I personally believe the commissions should support and contribute to each other’s major efforts at conception. We all can’t be experts in every aspect of an important assignment. This approach will ultimately make our work, and the city, stronger and more refined. The HRC immediately supported the project and in particular approved of the idea of six different artists defining six different equities. As noted in our mission statement, we will make every effort to solicit and encourage artists of every race, sexual identity, economic status, physical abilities and religion to participate. One artist may choose to create an actual pillar for the word “DIVERSITY” and have a typographic design of that word in multiple languages. Another may choose to create their pillar for “COMMUNITY” as a stack of many types of entwined bodies, or maybe its just hands supporting and reaching out to one another. We don’t know what will be presented and that’s the excitement of this project. And yes, there will be many steps of approval along the way! How I personally would define the equities is only one perspective. I may define “EQUALITY” as about LGBTQIA2S+ rights, but we have interest in working on “EQUALITY” from two local artists, a Hispanic husband and wife team. That to me is exciting and exemplifies the power of this concept. We ALL see the need for equality, and diversity, and serenity, and creativity, and civility, and community. With six 04/10/2023 Public Comment Item 1M different viewpoints, that multi-vision is what makes Palm Springs a dynamic place to live. Lastly, as the chosen artists are finalizing their designs, I hope we can engage with the Sustainability Commission so that they can contribute environmentally conscious and innovative ways of lighting this new installation. The less these efforts are siloed off, the more defining this installation will be. I encourage you to support this major initiative of the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission, and I hope another "Special Joint Meeting with City Council & Appreciation Dinner” is soon scheduled. This will not be an easy assignment, but it's an important one. We’re all ready to begin. Please reach out to me if you have any questions, and thank you for your time. Gary Armstrong Vice Chair, Palm Springs Public Arts Commission 917-304-2731 “Everything popular is wrong” - Oscar Wilde Gary Armstrong 917-304-2731 “Everything popular is wrong” - Oscar Wilde 04/10/2023 Public Comment Item 1M From:Gary Armstrong To:City Clerk Cc:Grace Garner; Jeffrey Bernstein; Ron deHarte; Lisa Middleton; Christy Holstege; Jay Virata Subject:Council Agenda item public comment--PSPAC: Pillars of Palm Springs Date:Thursday, April 6, 2023 1:36:13 PM NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. The Pillars of Palm Springs was conceived at last year’s "Special Joint Meeting with City Council & Appreciation Dinner" on June 21, 2022. At that meeting, as then Chair Tracy Merrigan and I were presenting the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission accomplishments and upcoming projects, former Councilmember Dennis Woods asked “What are your plans to replace the horses on Tahquitz Canyon Way? That is the first thing visitors to our city see!” I took that as a challenge. After some creative fermenting, I presented a rough concept to the PSPAC at our next meeting and the team workshopped slight variations of the end result. We all agreed that this would be our opportunity to define expectations of our city. The Arts Commission tossed around whether we have one artist do all six equities, (easier, but maybe less representative), six artists doing different interpretations of one concept (perhaps too repetitive and how do you choose one word?) and we ultimately settled on six distinct artists articulating six different equities. Creativity, Equality, Serenity, Diversity, Civility and Community (and we’re still torn between Community or simply, Unity) I then presented it to the Human Rights Commission for their buy in. Why? Because, as I stated at the Special Joint Meeting, I personally believe the commissions should support and contribute to each other’s major efforts at conception. We all can’t be experts in every aspect of an important assignment. This approach will ultimately make our work, and the city, stronger and more refined. The HRC immediately supported the project and in particular approved of the idea of six different artists defining six different equities. As noted in our mission statement, we will make every effort to solicit and encourage artists of every race, sexual identity, economic status, physical abilities and religion to participate. One artist may choose to create an actual pillar for the word “DIVERSITY” and have a typographic design of that word in multiple languages. Another may choose to create their pillar for “COMMUNITY” as a stack of many types of entwined bodies, or maybe its just hands supporting and reaching out to one another. We don’t know what will be presented and that’s the excitement of this project. And yes, there will be many steps of approval along the 04/10/2023 Public Comment Item 1M way! How I personally would define the equities is only one perspective. I may define “EQUALITY” as about LGBTQIA2S+ rights, but we have interest in working on “EQUALITY” from two local artists, a Hispanic husband and wife team. That to me is exciting and exemplifies the power of this concept. We ALL see the need for equality, and diversity, and serenity, and creativity, and civility, and community. With six different viewpoints, that multi-vision is what makes Palm Springs a dynamic place to live. Lastly, as the chosen artists are finalizing their designs, I hope we can engage with the Sustainability Commission so that they can contribute environmentally conscious and innovative ways of lighting this new installation. The less these efforts are siloed off, the more defining this installation will be. I encourage you to support this major initiative of the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission, and I hope another "Special Joint Meeting with City Council & Appreciation Dinner” is soon scheduled. This will not be an easy assignment, but it's an important one. We’re all ready to begin. Please reach out to me if you have any questions, and thank you for your time. Gary Armstrong Vice Chair, Palm Springs Public Arts Commission 917-304-2731 “Everything popular is wrong” - Oscar Wilde 04/10/2023 Public Comment Item 1M From:Gary Armstrong To:City Clerk Cc:Grace Garner; Jeffrey Bernstein; Ron deHarte; Lisa Middleton; Christy Holstege; Jay Virata Subject:Council Agenda item public comment--PSPAC: Pillars of Palm Springs Date:Thursday, April 6, 2023 1:36:13 PM NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. The Pillars of Palm Springs was conceived at last year’s "Special Joint Meeting with City Council & Appreciation Dinner" on June 21, 2022. At that meeting, as then Chair Tracy Merrigan and I were presenting the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission accomplishments and upcoming projects, former Councilmember Dennis Woods asked “What are your plans to replace the horses on Tahquitz Canyon Way? That is the first thing visitors to our city see!” I took that as a challenge. After some creative fermenting, I presented a rough concept to the PSPAC at our next meeting and the team workshopped slight variations of the end result. We all agreed that this would be our opportunity to define expectations of our city. The Arts Commission tossed around whether we have one artist do all six equities, (easier, but maybe less representative), six artists doing different interpretations of one concept (perhaps too repetitive and how do you choose one word?) and we ultimately settled on six distinct artists articulating six different equities. Creativity, Equality, Serenity, Diversity, Civility and Community (and we’re still torn between Community or simply, Unity) I then presented it to the Human Rights Commission for their buy in. Why? Because, as I stated at the Special Joint Meeting, I personally believe the commissions should support and contribute to each other’s major efforts at conception. We all can’t be experts in every aspect of an important assignment. This approach will ultimately make our work, and the city, stronger and more refined. The HRC immediately supported the project and in particular approved of the idea of six different artists defining six different equities. As noted in our mission statement, we will make every effort to solicit and encourage artists of every race, sexual identity, economic status, physical abilities and religion to participate. One artist may choose to create an actual pillar for the word “DIVERSITY” and have a typographic design of that word in multiple languages. Another may choose to create their pillar for “COMMUNITY” as a stack of many types of entwined bodies, or maybe its just hands supporting and reaching out to one another. We don’t know what will be presented and that’s the excitement of this project. And yes, there will be many steps of approval along the 04/10/2023 Public Comment Item 1M way! How I personally would define the equities is only one perspective. I may define “EQUALITY” as about LGBTQIA2S+ rights, but we have interest in working on “EQUALITY” from two local artists, a Hispanic husband and wife team. That to me is exciting and exemplifies the power of this concept. We ALL see the need for equality, and diversity, and serenity, and creativity, and civility, and community. With six different viewpoints, that multi-vision is what makes Palm Springs a dynamic place to live. Lastly, as the chosen artists are finalizing their designs, I hope we can engage with the Sustainability Commission so that they can contribute environmentally conscious and innovative ways of lighting this new installation. The less these efforts are siloed off, the more defining this installation will be. I encourage you to support this major initiative of the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission, and I hope another "Special Joint Meeting with City Council & Appreciation Dinner” is soon scheduled. This will not be an easy assignment, but it's an important one. We’re all ready to begin. Please reach out to me if you have any questions, and thank you for your time. Gary Armstrong Vice Chair, Palm Springs Public Arts Commission 917-304-2731 “Everything popular is wrong” - Oscar Wilde 04/10/2023 Public Comment Item 1M