Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager
Date:	November 15, 2012
RE:	Public Library Expansion Project Percent for Art Recommendation

Please place the following item on the November 20, 2012 City Commission meeting agenda:

Select the team of Dierk Van Keppel and John Shreve to complete the art for the library project within the budget of $75,000 and that the Committee and City staff be asked to work with the artist on contract documents for the work after further refinement, if appropriate.

Background:

In August 2012, the City Commission approved the release of a Request for Qualifications to artists regarding public art for the Public Library expansion project. A budget of $75,000 for the artwork was established. A Public Art for the Library Expansion Project Selection Committee was established to review the proposals and make a recommendation to the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission (LCAC) and City Commission in accordance with the City’s percent for art resolution.

The Public Art for the Library Expansion Project Selection Committee consists of the following:

· Jenny Cook, Lawrence Public Library Children’s Librarian and artist

· Karen Allen, Lawrence Public Library Teen Services Librarian

· Christopher Burger, member of the Lawrence Public Library Board of Trustees and a trial attorney with Stevens & Brand, L.L.P.

· Susan Craig, Head of the Murphy Art and Architecture Library in the Spencer Museum of Art, member of the Friends of the Lawrence Public Library, and former Lawrence Cultural Arts Commissioner

· John Hachmeister, KU Associate Professor of Sculpture and community art projects specialist, Lawrence Cultural Arts Commissioner

· Grace Peterson, artist and Lawrence Cultural Arts Commissioner

· Harvey Robinson, Office Manager, Lawrence Arts Center

· Matthew Farley, Artist

On October 5, 2012, the proposals were due from the artists and 71 submissions were received from artists from all over the country. The Selection Committee met for three meetings to discuss the proposals. The Committee invited Dierk Van Keppel/John Shreve to visit about their proposal and qualifications. At its meeting on November 6, 2012, the Committee made a motion to recommend to the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission and the City Commission that the team of Dierk Van Keppel and John Shreve be selected to complete the art for the library project within the budget of $75,000 and that the Committee and City staff be asked to work with the artist on contract documents for the work.

Dierk Van Keppel and John Shreve’s proposal and background is using the medium of glass, metal and light. The team has a track record of public and private commissions in the range of between $3,000 and $175,000. The Committee particularly commented on the beauty of the glass, the team’s proposed use of recycled glass materials for the project and the team’s proposed use of glass in several locations through the library project, including some areas where the glass could be touched by children and people with visual disabilities so that they could have direct contact with the art material.

The Committee wishes to continue to discuss in more detail with Mr. Van Keppel and Mr. Shreve the parameters of the project in an interactive way. Therefore, the Committee is suggesting more dialogue with the artist and as the project is more defined, the parameters will be outlined in a contract between the City and the artist and come back before the City Commission for approval.

The LCAC considered the Committee’s recommendation at its November 14, 2012 meeting. A motion was unanimously approved to accept the recommendation from the Committee and further the recommendation to the City Commission.

Suggested Action: