|
CITY OF VANCOUVER ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT |
Date: |
July 13, 2004 | |
Author: |
B. Newson | |
Phone No.: |
871 6002 | |
RTS No.: |
4305 | |
CC File No.: |
3130 | |
Meeting Date: |
July 20, 2004 |
TO: |
Vancouver City Council |
FROM: |
Director, Office of Cultural Affairs |
SUBJECT: |
2004 Public Art Project Allocations from Capital |
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT City Council approve $335,000 in allocations to new and current projects from the Public Art Unallocated account as follows:
1. $75,000 for the 2004 Community Public Art Program, with specific projects and budgets reported back for Council's consideration at a later date;
2. $100,000 for local First Nations artwork at Brockton Point;
3. $60,000 to complete the public art plan at the National Works Yard;
4. $30,000 to complete the Ridgeway East Greenway public art process;
5. $15,000 for the Victory Square Mosaic project;
6. $20,000 for public art communications, including pamphlets, brochures, and an instructional video for use in the community public art process;
7. $35,000 in project management funds to aid implementation of the above projects.
B. THAT City Council reallocate $75,000 of $100,000, previously approved for artwork on the Trans Canada Trail to the Public Art Unallocated budget.
Sources of funds are the $250,000 from Basic Capital Budget for Public Art; $75,000 reallocated from the Trans Canada Trail project (RECOMMENDATION B); and $10,000 unallocated funding from previous closed out public art accounts.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager RECOMMENDS approval of A.1 through A.7 and B.
COUNCIL POLICY
City Council adopted the Public Art Program for Civic and Private Development in 1990. A
Community Public Art Program was adopted in 1994.
City Council provided $750,000 for public art in the 2003-2005 Capital Plan. On May 20, 2004, Council approved $250,000 for 2004 civic public art projects, including this year's Community Public Art Program.
In 1994, Council adopted a policy by which all public art project budgets sited on City lands provide a minimum 10% of project budgets to the Public Art Maintenance Reserve. Interest earned on Reserve funds pays for ongoing public at maintenance.
SUMMARY
This report recommends allocations to public art projects totalling $335,000, including $75,000 for Community Public Art; $100,000 for local First Nations artwork at Brockton Point; $60,000 to complete artwork at the new National Works Yard; $30,000 to complete artwork on the Ridgeway East Greenway; $15,000 for mosaic artwork at Victory Square; $20,000 for program communications; and $35,000 for project management and administration.
PURPOSE
This report recommends allocations to the 2004 Community public Art Program and to public art projects undertaken in association with Park Board, Social Planning, and Engineering Services.
BACKGROUND
The Public Art Program has three components: Civic, Community, and Private Sector. Civic public art processes develop artworks at new and existing City and Parks capital projects. The Community Public Art Program develops public art in neighbourhoods by means of artist and community collaborations. Both the Civic and Community Public Art Programs are funded through the Capital Plan. The Private Sector Program provides options and guidelines for developer-sponsored public art, when art is required as a condition of development.
2004 RECOMMENDED PROJECT ALLOCATIONS
1. Community Public Art: $75,000
The Community Public Art Program offers grants to nonprofit groups which sponsor artist-community collaborations. Projects typically address neighbourhood needs and aspirations, while fostering community pride, identity, and cohesion. This year, as in previous years, project applications will be reviewed and recommended by a panel consisting of staff and community members. Following this review, recommended projects will be presented to Council for consideration.
2. First Nations Brockton Point Artwork: $100,000
Council last year approved $60,000 for a public art process undertaken in consultation with Social Planning that focussed on Vancouver sites having significance to aboriginal people. The intent was to identify such sites through a consultation process and create artworks appropriate to individual site conditions.
Extensive consultations followed with urban aboriginal and local First Nation peoples, who in the process of identifying many sites gave priority over all others to Brockton Point. Indeed, Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil' watuth representatives point out that none of the artwork at this famous destination represents local, or indeed any, Coast Salish peoples. Park Board staff have long noted this deficiency and readily agree to incorporate Coast Salish work into the site.
The totems at Brockton Point are among the finest extant. We estimate comparable artwork by local First Nations will cost between $100,000 and $150,000. If the present allocation is approved, it would be added to $60,000 approved last year so artwork of comparable quality can be commissioned.
The prospect of adding Coast Salish artwork to Brockton Point is a positive outcome of this highly cooperative consultation process with urban aboriginal and local First Nation peoples. But we also wish to address the promise of the other sites uncovered through this process. They offer the public a wealth of interpretive information about aboriginal Vancouver, which Native artists, employing the traditional and contemporary practices, could weave into the fabric of the city. Accordingly, we anticipate future requests to Council for this work, once any funds remaining from the Brockton Point process have been allocated to these other sites.
3. National Works Yard: $60,000
Council approved $150,000 for public art at the new Yard in 2002. A Public Art Plan created in close consultation with Engineering Services was approved by the Public Art Committee, and a number of artworks were created: a photographic project by yards staff documenting the transition from the old Yards to the new; substantial works at the southeast and southwest corner of the site; and a photographic collage screening glass doors in the administration building. City staff at all levels participated closely at all stages of this process, a model of its kind.
Intentionally, all artworks to date relate to the purpose and function of City Streets, Traffic, Sewer, or Electrical operations. The final project we propose would look beyond the staff and patrons of the Yard, and have as its primary audience the community of Strathcona, especially those living or traveling along Atlantic Avenue. These residents were the most involved in the development permit process for the Yard, and are most affected by the new development. They currently look down on a large, blank, east-facing, Works Yard wall.
Consultations on this project have begun with yards staff and residents. Fortunately, the first-phase projects at the Yards raised so much interest that the attention of many senior Vancouver artists has been engaged. An artwork budget of $40,000 is requested, and an additional $20,000*, equalling 10.5% of the total value of all artwork at the yards, is requested for the Public Art Maintenance Reserve. This allocation will complete the public art process at the National Works Yard.
