ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: July 9, 1996
Dept. File No.: SP
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Director of Cultural Affairs
SUBJECT: Public Art Allocations
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT City Council approve $100,000 for public art at the
Greenway Ridgeway Project; source of funds to be the Public
Art Unallocated Budget.
B. THAT City Council approve up to $50,000 for public art
provided in conjunction with construction of left-turn lanes
at Clark and Broadway; source of funds to be the Public Art
Unallocated Budget.
C. THAT City Council grant $2,000 to Stanley Park Ecological
Society for artist Pat Beaton's Coyote Project; source of
funds to be the 1996 Community Public Art budget.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of
A, B and C.
COUNCIL POLICY
On October 23, 1993, City Council approved $1,000,000 for public art
in the 1994-1996 Capital Plan.
Council approved $319,000 for public art in the 1996 Capital Works
Budget on May 14, 1996.
On May 28, 1996, City Council approved $10,000 within the 1996
Community Public Art budget for art fabrication materials for artists
in residence projects.
Approval of Recommendation C would constitute a grant, and eight
affirmative votes are required.
PURPOSE
This report recommends Council approval of public art funds totalling
$150,000 for projects at 37th Avenue and at Clark and Broadway, and a
grant to Stanley Park Ecological Society of $2,000.
DISCUSSION
Greenway Pilot project: $100,000
On December 14, 1995, Council approved a preliminary public art budget
of $30,000 for the Greenway Ridgeway. Approximately $14,000 of these
funds have been spent on art designs to be incorporated into the
Greenway, and on the identification of opportunities to be fulfilled
by other artists in conjunction with the community.
These public art opportunities were indicated in general terms in the
Ridgeway design approved by Council on June 27, 1996. The present
request would enable these opportunities to be implemented in tandem
with Greenway construction.
Council is asked to approve a budget of $100,000 which, combined with
$16,000 remaining from the budget approved in December, provides a
total (including maintenance) of $116,000. Council is asked to note
that many more public art opportu-nities have been identified than can
be addressed by the recommended budget.
Clark Drive Public Art: $50,000
Left-turn bays are under construction on Clark Drive at Broadway. In
response to community requests to address the traffic impact on the
neighbourhood, Public Art and Engineering Services staff met with
citizens and identified art opportu-nities which emphasize the
presence of Queen Alexandra School and otherwise reinforce
community/pedestrian values.
Subject to Council approval of funds, artist projects would be
undertaken on the school fence, on pedestrian barriers between the
sidewalk and the street, and on two bus shelters. Staff note that the
north-west corner of the school yard, which will be altered to
construct the left-turn lane, offers a signifi-cant opportunity to
reinforce the presence of the school and schoolchildren.
Staff recommend up to $50,000 for this project, noting that
cost-sharing opportunities will be taken up with Queen Alexandra
School Principal Dave Short, and the School Consul-tative Committee.
Artists in Residence: $2,000
On May 28, 1996, Council allocated up to $2,500 for art materials for
each of four artist residencies at Community Centres. Park Board
approved five residencies, including one at Stanley park. The
attached request (Appendix A) by Stanley Park Ecological Society for
$2,000, for artist Pat Beaton's Coyote Project at Stanley Park's
Miniature Railway, has been reviewed and is recommended by staff and
the Public Art Committee for inclusion in this program.
The above allocations are recommended by all participating City staff
and the Public Art Committee.
* * * * *
APPENDIX A
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STANLEY PARK ECOLOGY SOCIETY
Rose Garden Cottage
Stanley Park
Box 5167
Vancouver,
B.C. V6B 4B2
Mr. Bryan Newson,
Public Art Program Manager,
Office of Cultural Affairs,
City of Vancouver
Dear Mr. Newson,
As you may be aware, Stanley Park is hosting artist, Pat
Beaton, through the Park Board Artist in Residence program this
summer, in a project entitled Coyote Facts and Folklore. We
believe that this project works both to stimulate interest in the
artist's process, as well as to explore the issue of urban coyotes.
The outcome will be a legacy of silhouette figures of coyotes
installed in the area of the Miniature Railway. The
figure of each coyote will mimic the gesture of the animal in its
daily life, eating, sleeping, howling, travelling, etc. There will be
an activity table in conjunction with the installation which will
invite visitors to create rubbings of scaled down images with paper
and crayons.
I am writing to request a grant of $2,000 from the City of Vancouver
to supplement the materials budget for this project.
Attached please find the project budget. We hope that the City
will be able to assist us in supporting this valuable initiative.
Sincerely,
Sherry Bie
Chair, Stanley Park Ecology Society