Title
Adoption of Resolution Adopting the Public Art Master Plan. (Base Reuse and Economic Development 10061810) [Not heard on December 5, 2023]
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The draft Public Art Master Plan (Plan) is a comprehensive guide that aims to promote and support public art in the City of Alameda (City). The completion of the Plan was recommended by the Public Art Commission (PAC) to guide the implementation of the City’s public art program, in alignment with the vision and goals of the Alameda community, PAC and City Council. Through a competitive request for proposal (RFP) process, Forecast Public Art (Forecast) was selected to develop the Plan in collaboration with the Base Reuse and Economic Development Department (BREDD). The development of the Plan in Alameda involved a community engagement strategy that collaborated with local artists, arts organizations, and community members. The Plan has been reviewed on numerous occasions by the PAC who provided feedback. The Plan has also been reviewed and commented on by the Planning Board and senior staff from different City departments. On October 17, 2023, the PAC voted to recommend to the City Council adoption of the Plan. Staff is recommending that the City Council adopt a resolution adopting the Plan.
BACKGROUND
The completion of a Plan was recommended by the PAC in December 2020 to guide the implementation of the City’s public art program, in alignment with the vision and goals of the City Council, PAC and Alameda community.
An RFP for qualified consultants was issued in June 2021 and Forecast was selected through a competitive process and evaluation in November 2021.
Between June and October 2022, Forecast and City staff led three facilitated public workshops with PAC. In addition to these facilitated workshops, between June 2022 and February 2023, Forecast conducted a robust community engagement strategy, which involved collaboration with local artists, arts organizations, and community members. This community engagement strategy played a key role in shaping the development of this Plan and included:
● One-on-One conversations were held with 11 individuals who were selected based on their previous and/or current involvement in arts and culture activities in Alameda. These individuals included elected officials, developers, arts organization leaders, City staff, and a representative from Alameda Unified School District.
● Four Focus Groups were held that targeted individuals and organizations that are affected by decisions made around arts and culture (e.g., artists, philanthropists, arts educators, cultural organizations, city staff, among others). A total of 13 people participated.
● Two Pop-Up events (held at the Alameda Art Fair and Fiesta Alameda) engaged a total of 205 people. Individuals engaged were attendees at these two free arts and culture events.
• Community-Wide Survey generated 439 responses. The majority of responses were submitted online, while a couple dozen responses were collected in person at an event hosted by a Public Art Commissioner (three such events were held).
Individuals participating in One-on-One conversations and Focus Groups were targeted directly, while the Pop-Up events and Community-Wide Survey were marketed much more broadly. For the Community-Wide Survey, staff relied on City press releases, Public Art Updates (City-curated e-blast that is sent to subscribers interested in public art in Alameda), all-staff email, engagement at the two Pop-Ups, and leveraging art organization and Public Art Commissioners to get the word out about the survey and generate a robust response.
On April 17, 2023, Forecast and staff presented a draft of the Plan to the PAC in its regular public meeting. During that meeting Forecast and staff received feedback related primarily to four key elements of the Plan:
● Vision, Mission and Goals of Alameda’s Public Art Program
● Recommendations
● Five-year action plan
● Typical processes for artwork commissioned by Public Art Fund grants
On May 23, 2023, after incorporating feedback from the PAC, staff and Forecast returned to the PAC with a revised draft of the Plan. The PAC provided additional feedback pertaining to the Vision, Mission and Goals, Five-Year Action Plan, description of a proposed Biennial Reporting process, and Appendix H (Possible Additional Sources of Funding for Public Art in Alameda).
On June 26, 2023, staff brought the Plan before the Planning Board and received feedback pertaining to clarifying Public Art Ordinance requirements, the roles of the Planning Board and PAC, as well as revisions to the Deaccessioning policy, locational opportunities section, among other recommendations.
Following review by the Planning Board, staff circulated the Plan to senior staff from other departments and integrated their feedback into the Plan.
At its October 17, 2023, meeting, Forecast and staff presented a revised Plan, which incorporated feedback from the Planning Board and senior staff from other departments to the PAC for consideration. The PAC voted to recommend the City Council adopt the Plan contingent on additional revisions, which were primarily graphic in nature. The draft included with this report has incorporated these final revisions.
DISCUSSION
The Plan is a comprehensive guide that aims to promote and support public art in the city. The Plan establishes policies and procedures that will help the City to effectively manage its public art program and collection, prioritize public art funding. It was informed through a robust community engagement strategy and close collaboration between Forecast, City staff, and the PAC.
As described above, the engagement activities included PAC workshops, One-on-One conversations, Focus Groups, Pop-Up creative engagement activities conducted by a local team member, and a community-wide survey.
● The PAC workshops involved creating a shared definition of public art, discussing cultural equity, and reviewing comparative programming of other cities in California to provide inspiration around what could happen in Alameda in the future, among other topics;
● One-on-One conversations were held with people who have been involved in arts and culture activities in the past, including but not limited to, elected officials, artists, developers, City staff, and other community stakeholders;
● In addition, a series of Focus Group conversations were held with people who will be affected by decisions made around arts and culture;
● Local artist Yolanda Cotton Turner developed Pop-Up activities to engage directly with community members and understand their wishes for public art in Alameda; and
● Lastly, a community-wide survey was completed by nearly 450 people, providing valuable input on public art priorities in Alameda.
The high-level input that was gathered from the community during the public outreach and three PAC Workshops/Facilitated Discussions includes:
• Recommendation for regularity of public art grants (e.g., every year or every other year) so that arts organizations can better plan and dedicate staff time and resources for responses to grant calls.
• Suggestion to include information on what other cities are doing regarding public art, such as Berkeley and Santa Cruz.
• Interest in exploring additional revenue sources to support public art.
This Plan seeks to amplify a sense of place and identity for Alameda, helping to define the City's unique character and enhance its cultural and creative landscape. By having a structured and comprehensive approach, the City can more easily build a cohesive public art program that is in line with its objectives and creates a positive impact on the community. Of particular importance is the development of a vision, mission, and goals, which serve as the policy framework guiding implementation of the Plan. The Plan vision, mission and goals were developed by the PAC through a series of facilitated discussions with Forecast and frames the Plan’s scope and prioritization.
The Plan is organized into an Executive Summary, a Roadmap for Public Art in Alameda, and ten (10) appendices (A-J). Note that the Plan includes a placeholder located prior to the Acknowledgements page for a foreword that would be incorporated following adoption by City Council.
The Road Map for Public Art in Alameda provides “actionable, prioritized steps to take in the next five years, and was created in consideration of Public Art Program staff capacity, fund variability, and community desires. It consists of a set of recommendations and a Five-Year Action Plan and establishes policies and procedures for the effective management of the City’s public art program and collection, prioritizes funding, and provides a roadmap for the selection and placement of artworks.”
Appendices included in the Plan are as follows. Note that Appendices I (Public Art Policy Guidelines) and J (City of Alameda Procedures for Public Art) are intended to serve as standalone resources for developers, artists, arts organizations, and City staff.
• Appendix A: Plan Purpose
• Appendix B: Public Art in Alameda
• Appendix C: Plan Input
• Appendix D: Recommendations
• Appendix E: Draft Deaccessioning Policy
• Appendix F: Locational Opportunities for Public Art in Alameda
• Appendix G: Potential Structure for Unveiling Celebrations
• Appendix H: Possible Additional Sources of Funding for Public Art in Alameda
• Appendix I: Public Art Policy Guidelines
• Appendix J: City of Alameda Procedures for Public Art
Collaboratively developing a master plan is understood to be a best practice for guiding municipal public art programs. Given the variability of Public Art Fund revenues, limited staff capacity, and PAC turnover, juxtaposed with often multi-year efforts required to realize public art projects, the adoption of a master plan would provide a consistent policy guidance and allow for the effective pursuit of medium and long-term public art priorities in Alameda.
Staff is recommending that City Council adopt the draft Public Art Master Plan.
ALTERNATIVES
City Council may:
• Adopt the Public Art Master Plan, as recommended by staff and the PAC;
• Adopt the Public Art Master Plan with additional changes;
• Delay adoption of the Public Art Master Plan to a later date; or
• Determine that it is not in the best interest of the City to adopt a Public Art Master Plan.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no financial impact from adoption of the Public Art Master Plan. However, there are associated financial implications with the adoption of the Plan that will be supported primarily by the Public Art Fund and may be subject to future City Council approval.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
Adoption of a Public Art Master Plan will support Section 30-98 of the Alameda Municipal Code.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action does not constitute a “project” as defined in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 and therefore no further CEQA analysis is required.
CLIMATE IMPACT
The Plan provides guidance for evaluating locations for future public artwork. This evaluation includes consideration of factors such as climate, exposure to water, animals, birds, wind patterns, among others. Additionally, both temporary and permanent public artwork have the ability to increase transparency, community engagement, social resilience, and support for effective Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP) implementation.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution adopting the Public Art Master Plan.
Respectfully submitted,
Abby Thorne-Lyman, Base Reuse and Economic Development Director
By,
Walker Toma, Development Manager
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Margaret O’Brien, Finance Director
Exhibit:
1. Public Art Master Plan