During the first year of the Public Art Program, the FY17 Public Art Annual Work Plan included the Festival Site Overlook project adjacent to Brazos River Park Phase II. The Festival Site Overlook project proposes a permanent artwork be installed at Sugar Land’s Festival Site Overlook, which will be a location for large outdoor events and gatherings. At the Overlook, a retaining wall and colonnade exists that would be highly suitable for an applied artwork, in a material such as mosaic or ceramic tile. This project is intended to be a two-year project with funding coming from both FY17 and FY18 Sugar Land 4B Corporation (SL4B) funds, totaling $175,000. The use of SL4B funds is consistent with the direction from the City Council adopted Public Art Plan to utilize restricted revenues sources for public art – i.e. revenues that cannot go to support the general operations of the City.
On June 13 2017, the PARCS Board reviewed and recommended the project plan for the project, which provides the recommended approach to a project, the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders, and various other considerations. The project plan outlined the utilization of a Selection Panel who would recommend the artist(s) and artwork to the PARCS Board for approval.
The four-member Selection Panel met on two separate occasions this fall to recommend the preferred project. During the Request for Qualification (RFQ) process, which concluded on August 22, 2017, seventy-four artists from across the United States with a concentration of Texas-based artists successfully submitted a proposal. After reviewing submissions on September 11, 2017, the Selection Panel short-listed three artists to participate in the Request for Proposals (RFP), which required each of the short-listed artists to propose a specific artwork designed for Sugar Land's Festival Site Overlook. On October 30, 2017, the Selection Panel convened for their second meeting to review the RFP submittals and make a recommendation on artist selection.
Houston-based artist team RE:site was selected to design, fabricate and install the public artwork for the Festival Site Overlook. The mosaic proposal from RE:site uses a combination of Sugar Land's cultural diversity and natural vegetation as its influence. It was selected due to its appealing visual impact from a distance as well as up-close, has a strong use of vibrant color, covers the entire length of the retaining wall, and utilizes recycled glass. RE:site has proposed the work at a price of $150,000.
RE:site is a Houston-based artist team who has recently won several high profile projects and represents a new generation of successful public artists. Completed projects include those at Texas State University (San Marcos), Tampa Riverwalk (Florida), El Paso International Airport, American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum, Hennepin County Park Library (Brooklyn Park, MN), Hobby Airport (Houston), Dallas Love Field, Texas A&M University, and others.
Per the guidelines set for the Public Art Plan, the Cultural Arts Manager submitted the artist selection and the artist concept to the PARCS Board for its approval, and on November 14, 2017, the PARCS Board unanimously approved the project. Per the City's financial policies and state law, the City Council is required to approve the work as the contract with RE:site exceeds $50,000. The Sugar Land 4B Corporation previously approved Funding Resolution Nos. 2017-3-05 and 2017-11-15 early this year to provide funding for this project.
Staff recommends approval of the contract with RE: site for $150,000 utilizing funding from the Sugar Land 4B Corporation for the Festival Site Overlook public art project. Work is anticipated to be completed in late Spring 2018.