Item Coversheet
Town of Miami Lakes
Memorandum

To:Honorable Mayor and Council
From:Alex Rey, Town Manager
Subject:Youth Center Public Art Project
Date:12/6/2016

Recommendation:
It is recommended that the Town Council approve the public art concept as created by artist Hans Feyerabend and recommended by the Professional Advisory Committee and authorize the Town Manager to enter into an agreement with Hans Feyerabend for the design and construction of the artwork in an amount not to exceed $11,900.
Background:
In Fall 2015, the Town began the process of developing a concept for indoor public art at the new Youth Center. The artwork will comply with Miami-Dade County's Art in Public Placesunder County Code Section 2-11.50that requires 1.5% of construction costs of new government buildings to be set aside for public art. Construction costs include but are not limited to: architectural and engineering fees; specialty consulting fees; construction costs (including all systems and features that make a facility functional); site work; and contingency allowances.

To begin the process, the Town worked with the County's Cultural Affairs Department to issue a Call to Artist seeking the qualifications of local artists in the Miami-Dade County area. In following the recommendation of the County's Cultural Affairs Department, a Professional Advisory Committee (PAC), comprised of local professional artists, was created to review applications and select the artwork and provide their recommendation. A Call to Artist was issued on July 15, 2016 and twenty-four (24) submittals were received. The PAC, comprised of local artists Gabriela Guzman, Lorna Balsamo, and Hope Reynolds, reviewed the submittals and shortlisted five (5) artists to produce a conceptual rendering of the artwork for the Youth Center. The artists selected were: Cushy Gigs (Melodie Blaize & Alexander Vahan), Janet Mueller, Carlos Inocente Gonzalez, Hans Feyerabend, and Cecilia Lueza.

The five selected artists produced conceptual renderings and presented their proposals to the PAC. Based on their review of the proposals and conceptual renderings, the PAC selected Mr. Hans Feyerabend. Mr. Feyerabend presented a floating cloud sculpture concept for the breezeway of the Youth Center. A colorful, suspended sculpture floating through the breezeway with an oval shape would fill the space and offer different views from different angles: the installation of the panels would follow the main direction of the breezeway, viewed from the activity rooms on its sides they would become a 3-dimensional multicolored painting. Energetic yellow and red hues would make the sculpture the center's visual highlight. During the day, sunlight will be filtered through the transparent panels onto surrounding walls and floor and at night, the effects of it will be dramatically different through the illumination by the up and down lights already installed.

The shape of the sculpture resembles some primitive life form or an alien space ship and its 3 dimensional openness will challenge, inspire, and trigger conversations. The breezeway marks the functional intersection of the Youth Center and the sculpture would literally embody the nickname “spot” in its center. The sculpture will be made of multiple hand colored acrylic glass panels, mounted on lightweight trusses and will measure approximately 8 ft. x 12 ft. To allow the full vibrancy of the installation, the adjacent walls will be painted white to reflect the light and luminosity.

The proposed artist's budget for this piece is $11,900.00
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Call to Artists
Artist Proposal
PAC Score Sheets
Art in Public Places Resolution