Sacramento Convention Center and Community Center Theater Complex (CCT) ART IN PUBLIC PLACES (APP) PROJECT PLAN - April 23, 2018 I. Introduction II. III. IV. Artwork Selection Process Budget Program Administration V. Recommended Sites VI. VII. VIII. Removal and Relocation of Existing Artworks Timeline and Significant Milestones Education I. INTRODUCTION PROJECT OVERVIEW The City of Sacramento is renovating and expanding the Community Center Theatre and Convention Center beginning in 2019 and re-opening in 2021. The 1972-era Community Center Theatre is home to the city s ballet, symphony, opera, Broadway and lecture series. The façade of the Community Center Theatre will be completely re-imagined, while the interior will be updated. The City s Convention Center, a 200,000 square foot facility most recently renovated in 1998, caters to regional and national conventions, meetings and special events. The Convention Center will be expanded, to accommodate larger exhibits and meetings as well as an enhanced guest experience. The overall design intent of the renovation of the Convention and Theater complex is to create a more cohesive campus that engages the surrounding urban environment; enhances the pedestrian experience; encourages walkability between primary street corridors through downtown to the west, ultimately connecting to the Golden One Center and the Old Sacramento area. OPPORTUNITIES AND ART SITES The operations and needs of the Convention and Theater Complex are being designed and scoped by the architect teams for both buildings. At this stage of the process, the Public Art areas are not clearly defined, though main themes continue to remain in the forefront. THEATER LOCATION The architecture team of DLR Group and Westlake Reed Leskoskys is opening the building to the urban environment using a material palette of transparency and lightness to create a welcoming presence at the pedestrian level. The theme of Sacramento s rich culture of trees is a focus in their design work. 1
Potential interior locations for public art include ceilings, lobbies, and atriums and for exterior locations entry plazas and building façade. CONVENTION CENTER LOCATION The architecture team of Populous and Hood Studio will focus on creating a functional building that welcomes visitors to Sacramento. The architecture will embrace and engage actively with city streets by framing various views of downtown from windows and creating transparency into four main entrance atriums that welcome visitors. Interior locations for artwork will be large walls, ceilings, entrance lobbies, corridors and the grand ballroom. Exterior locations may include the building façade, architectural surfaces, treatments or enhancements. Temporary exhibition space may also be part of the environment where Metro Arts will be developing an Exhibition Program to showcase local and regional artists. PLAZA LOCATION The exterior plaza space sits between the Convention Center and the Theater unifying the two buildings. Patrons of both facilities will use this plaza during events however it is also deemed a community space that will be programmed to engage the residents and visitors alike. Type of artwork being considered: site-specific installation integrated design, art enhancements, feature walls portable work, traditional medium, intimate scale new media, virtual art, interactive art, sound, light environmental, hardscapes, landscapes, artist-designed spaces exterior architectural surface treatments Other sites and art opportunities may become available as the Convention Center Theater (CCT) Art in Public Places (APP) Plan evolves, at which point the Selection Panel will continue to be engaged to recommend priorities areas and artists. All artists selected for the art program will be encouraged to create unique, innovative artwork that reflects Sacramento s stature as the State Capital and as a thriving center for the creative economy, government activity, cultural tourism, and trade. All artwork must respond creatively to the site, architecture, and function of the buildings. II. ARTWORK SELECTION PROCESS A. Convention Center and Theater Art in Public Places Panel (CCT APP) The CCT APP panel is comprised of representatives of the local community as well as nationally. Susana Smith Bautista, PH.D. /Executive Director, Pasadena Museum of California Art Felicia Filer/Public Art Division Director, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs Mark Steven Greenfield / Artists, Arts administrator, Altadena, CA Mario Mendia/ Arts Consultant, Arts Administrator and Educator, Phoenix, AZ Liv Moe artist, curator, writer, and arts administrator for the Verge Center for the Arts, Sacramento, CA William Ishmael/ Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commissioner, Public Art Chair, artist, civil engineering and urban planner, Sacramento, CA (second panel) Jason Silva/ Chair, Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commissioner, Architect and Artist, Sacramento, CA (first panel) 2
Michael Rudolph, AIA Architect/ Senior Associate, Phoenix, AZ Representing the Sacramento Community Center Theater Michael Lockwood, Senior Architect/ Senior Principal, San Francisco, CA Representing the Sacramento Convention Center B. Selection Process The Arts Commission is committed to ensuring racial and cultural equity in all its policies and practices. Included in this selection process are: Outreach and Engagement proactive outreach to multiple diverse communities Equity and Access embracing a variety of communication methods and styles allowing for equitable access Accountability provide a transparent and inclusive process in the selection and allocation of arts funding Artists were asked to submit their qualifications and visual images of past work in response to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ). Applications were sent to Submittable an online submission management program, which has a substantial database of artists already registered. The Metro Arts staff used all recognized public art notification platforms, including our Metro Arts artists database, arts agencies newsletters across the country, the Public Art Network, the Norcal Public Art Administrators network along with outreach to galleries locally, and regionally. More than 280 artists responded to the RFQ. The Selection panel will have the opportunity to review the RFQ applicants prior to their firstpanel meeting. At the first meeting, the panelist will be briefed on details of the CCT Project by the architects. Using the RFQ, the panel will recommend artists to make proposals for prioritized art locations. Selected artists will be invited to Sacramento to be briefed on the proposed art locations, where architects will provide information, parameters, and guidelines for the sites as well as answer questions. This process provides information to the proposing artists that allow for true integration of their art with the architecture. Using this process proposals are stronger with concepts backed by realistic budgets. Panelist will meet for a second time to review the proposals and recommend artists and locations for the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commissions review and approval. C. Criteria for Selection Sacramento s rich history, including its multicultural populations, agricultural roots, its role as a major west coast transportation hub, and its status as the state capital implies the recognition and preservation of these histories should be promoted through the artwork commissioned for this project. Residents want the arts to tell the stories and reinforce the distinct character of Sacramento. Criteria for selection of public art or approval of designs include but are not limited to the following: 1. Quality and artistic excellence of past work and proposed designs; 2. Artist s technical abilities as demonstrated in previously commissioned artwork; 3. Artist s ability to address site-responsive public art projects; 3
4. The willingness of the artist to consult and work with City representatives, the Project Architect and General Contractor, and CCT staff and Arts Commission Art in Public Places (APP) staff to ensure efficient integration of artwork into the site; 5. Artist s ability to carry out the commission, keep the project within budget, and to complete and install the work on schedule; and 6. Artist s knowledge of and ability to work with durable materials that are appropriate for long-term exposure in a public environment and that require minimal care and long-term maintenance. The commissioned artwork should achieve the following goals: 1. Reinforce the connection of the building to the City; 2. Reflect the character of the region; 3. Support the relationship Sacramento has to the out-of-doors; 4. Strengthen the pedestrian s experience of the building; 5. Be in areas open to the general public; and 6. Highlight the building s function as a site for cultural events and activities. CCT Art Program will acquire artwork that is designed for a specific site or function. Artists and artwork may be selected using various selection methods, such as: Commissioning: The process of hiring an artist to produce a unique artwork for a specific site and context. Integrated Artwork: Artwork that is structurally integrated into architectural support systems of a building or structure. Direct Purchase: An existing artwork is purchased for a particular site as a commission for a portable works collection. Site-Specific Artwork: Artwork that is designed for a particular place and that has a contextual meaning. D. City Council Approval The Sacramento City Council must approve contracts for an amount over $100,000. Once a proposal has been reviewed and approved by SMAC, it will be presented to the City Council for review and approval. III. BUDGET Between $3.5 million and $ 4.3 million is proposed for the Art in Public Places component. IV. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION The Plan for administering the CCT Art Program includes the management of: 1. Development of CCT Art Plan. 2. Artist research and outreach, application intake, and artist selection. 3. Artwork design development including reviews by conservation specialists and engineers for ADA, safety, maintenance, and conservation. 4. Contract development and negotiation, and design approval by Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and Sacramento City Council. 5. Installation of artwork. 4
6. Public relations and education. V. RECOMMENDED SITES The design of the CCT allows opportunities for artwork to be commissioned in several locations and in a variety of styles, scale, media, and artistic approaches. The art sites described below are those that are considered priority sites as they are in areas that are the most publicly accessible and allow the artwork to make significant contributions to the design and function of the CCT and the grounds surrounding the building. The sites identified below may be modified or eliminated following the submittal of artists design proposals, as the proposed artwork may impact one or more of these sites. Careful attention will be paid to ensuring that each commissioned artwork is not negatively impacted by another artwork due to scale, medium, or physical or visual access. Convention Center East entrance Convention Center West entrance J Street Plaza Theater entrance Theater lobby Sites throughout the complex for portable works Sites throughout the complex for temporary exhibitions VI. REMOVAL AND RELOCATION OF EXISTING ARTWORKS FOR THE CCT PROJECT A detailed plan for the existing artwork will be provided in the future once construction plans and schedules are finalized. Some artwork will remain in place, others will be removed, stored, reinstalled, relocated or de-accessioned. De-Accessioning is a procedure for the permanent removal of an artwork from a public collection. De-accessioning of any artwork in the current CCT collection will occur only after a careful and impartial evaluation of the artwork being considered for removal. De-accessioning of any artwork in the CCT will follow the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission Policy and Standard Operating Procedures. VII. TIMELINE AND SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES A. SELECTION PROCESS The plan is currently in the artist selection phase with the draft schedule as follows: April Call for artists May (early) Selection panel meets to review artist submissions May (mid) Panel establishes a short-list of artists June Site visit for short-listed artists July Selection Panel meets to make a final recommendation Aug Commission approves artist selection B. CCT CONSTRUCTION TIMELINE 5
VIII. EDUCATION Construction dates are still fluid at this time. Metro Arts Staff will provide periodic updates as details become known. Final construction is scheduled to be completed mid-2021. Throughout the life of the administration of the CCT Public Art Program, SMAC will present a variety of lectures and presentations designed to promote a greater understanding of the processes, procedures and cultural benefits of a public art program. The presentations will include the following events and activities: 1. Artist Lecture Series: Artists who have been commissioned through the CCT will give presentations about their work at local schools, universities, galleries and other public venues. The artists will highlight the specific experiences of working in the realm of public art and will discuss their approaches to conceiving and executing a public art project. 2. Off-Site Exhibitions: SMAC will sponsor exhibitions of artwork by artists featured in the CCT art collection. The artwork may be exhibited in public buildings or in local art galleries and museums. The exhibitions will include information about the artist and his or her commission for the Metro Art Program. 3. Public Art Tours and Brochures: Upon the completion of the CCT, Metro Arts will produce a brochure of the CCT Art Program that includes a map of the site and identifies each artwork in the CCT collection. 4. Interactive Media Tours: Interactive tours using cell phones or other tools may be developed to make the collection more immediately accessible. 6