Solana Beach City Council members voted Oct. 11 to approve a couple of modifications to the city’s Temporary Public Arts Program, a 15-year-old initiative that has decorated multiple locations with sculptures from many different artists.
The changes extend the loan period from one year and $1,500 in compensation to the artist to two years and $3,000. They also added another public art site to a median on Highland Drive.
According to a city staff report, the changes will make the public art program “more appealing and competitive in comparison to temporary arts programs in other cities.”
“I think this will help,” Solana Beach Mayor Lesa Heebner said. “I think public art is an important thing for every city.”
Several other cities, including Del Mar and Carlsbad, have made similar adjustments to their public arts programs, according to the city staff report.
Solana Beach’s program started in 2008 with three locations, followed quickly by four more locations. Three of the first art pieces were later purchased by the city and became part of its Permanent Art Program.
One of the recent works of art that started in the temporary program was Pinion, a sculpture by Jon Koehler designed to illustrate the flight feather of a bird’s wing that stands 20 feet tall and weighs 250 pounds.
Two years ago, council members voted to spend $25,000, plus an additional $10,000 for refurbishments and a new base, to make Pinion part of its permanent collection.
The Temporary Public Art Program’s current locations include Solana Beach Towne Center, Lomas Santa Fe Median by Skyline Elementary School, Seascape Sur Beach Access, and the intersection of San Andreas and Las Banderas, according to the city.
The request to extend the terms of the program came from the city’s Public Arts Commission, which wanted to “increase the quality of submissions and further grow the program’s success.”
Credit: Source link