[Durham INC] Durham Selects New Downtown Parking Garage Public Art Team

Wed Mar 21 11:35:29 EDT 2018

[Title: City of Durham Office of Public Affairs logo]

For Details Contact
Amy Blalock, Public Affairs Manager
919.560.4123 x11253 | 919.475.7735 (mobile)
Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov

News Release
For Immediate Release: March 21, 2018

Durham Selects New Downtown Parking Garage Public Art Team
Meet-and-Greet and Pop-Up Design Studio Events Set for April 2

DURHAM, N.C. - The under-construction Downtown Mixed-Use Parking Garage<http://durhamnc.gov/761/Durham-Mixed-Use-Parking-Garage> will have new public art on display when it opens in January 2019 now that the artist team has been selected.

The City of Durham General Services Department, Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Transportation Department, Public Art Committee, and Artist Selection Committee have chosen Blane de St. Croix, Lara Kaufman, and Samuel Brissette as the artist team to design and install public art for the new garage. Their selection is from a pool of 81 qualified applicants from across the United States responding to a national call for qualifications released in October 2017.

The new parking garage is located at the intersections of Morgan Street, Mangum Street, and Rigsbee Avenue, and the goal of this public art installation is to facilitate an interactive, engaging artistic experience at one of the gateways into downtown Durham.

The City is hosting two events in early April to provide residents the opportunity to meet the three artists, learn about their artistic approach for this project, and provide comments to actively inform their design process. The events are as follows:

*        Meet-and-Greet: Monday, April 2 from noon to 1 p.m., Unscripted Hotel, 202 Corcoran St.

*        Pop-Up Design Studio: Monday, April 2 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Historic Parrish Street Forum, 108 W. Parrish St. This studio event is co-hosted with Durham Area Designers.

This artist team, which makes up the art and design collaborative Public Ground Studio, is focused on the intersection of public space and the environment. With backgrounds in art and architecture, they have experience creating socially engaging public spaces and artworks that explore landscapes and the underlying environmental issues embedded in them. In combining these two lines of investigation, their work aims to make public art that brings an added awareness and appreciation to natural and urban environments.

To further help artists connect with future public art opportunities, the City has a Durham Calls for Artists<http://durhamnc.gov/2984/Durham-Calls-for-Artists> page on its website, which lists a number of upcoming opportunities. Artists and other stakeholders who would like to be notified of current and future art-related opportunities and news can sign up for alerts through the Cultural and Public Art mailing list<https://goo.gl/forms/dr4ZJmVUJB2D75bq2>. For more information about the City’s Public Art Program, visit the City’s public art webpage<https://durhamnc.gov/453/Public-Art-Committee>. Artists interested in more information about the Public Art program may also contact Senior Economic Development Coordinator Brian Smith with the City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development at (919) 560-4965, ext. 15205 or Brian.Smith at DurhamNC.gov<mailto:Brian.Smith at DurhamNC.gov>.

For more information on the new downtown parking garage, visit the project website<http://durhamnc.gov/761/Durham-Mixed-Use-Parking-Garage> or contact Project Manager Henri Prosperi within the City’s General Services Department at (919) 560-4197, ext. 21253 or Henri.Prosperi at DurhamNC.gov<mailto:Henri.Prosperi at DurhamNC.gov>.

Persons who require assistance to attend the April 2 meet-and-greet or the pop-up design studio should contact (919) 560‐4197 or ADA at DurhamNC.gov<mailto:ADA at DurhamNC.gov> no later than 48 hours before the meeting.

About the City of Durham General Services Department
The General Services Department<http://durhamnc.gov/733/> builds and maintains City properties to make Durham a great place for people to live, work, and play. Guided by the City’s Strategic Plan<http://durhamnc.gov/183/Strategic-Plan>, the department’s core functions include the acquisition and sale of properties, design and management of new construction and renovation projects, building maintenance, landscaping and urban forestry services, cemeteries management, sustainability and energy management, and supporting the nonprofit Keep Durham Beautiful<http://durhamnc.gov/183/Strategic-Plan>.

About the City of Durham Office of Economic and Workforce Development
Guided by the City’s Strategic Plan<http://durhamnc.gov/183/Strategic-Plan>, the Office of Economic and Workforce Development<http://durhamnc.gov/446/Office-of-Economic-Workforce-Development> helps ensure that Durham has a strong and diverse economy by increasing the city’s tax base through several revitalization initiatives, including new development efforts in the central city area. The department also plans and promotes cultural awareness and events, identifies and recruits target industries as well as assesses and trains Durham residents to fill new jobs.

About the City of Durham Transportation Department
The Transportation Department<http://durhamnc.gov/1002/Transportation> is responsible for a broad range of transportation services, which include traffic signs and signals, transportation planning, parking operations<http://www.parkdurham.org/>, street lighting, taxicab administration, and bicycle and pedestrian planning. The department also oversees GoDurham<http://godurhamtransit.org/> and GoDurham ACCESS<http://godurhamtransit.org/access> as well as leads planning functions for the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization<http://www.dchcmpo.org/> (DCHC MPO), which is the regional organization that is responsible for planning and programming state and federal transportation projects in the urbanized areas of Durham, Orange, and Chatham counties. Guided by the City’s Strategic Plan<http://durhamnc.gov/183/Strategic-Plan>, the department helps to strengthen the foundation, enhance the value, and improve the quality and sustainability of neighborhoods that are necessary for a strong and diverse community.

About the City of Durham Public Art Committee
The Public Art Committee <file:///\\Durham_mis\City_Manager\Home\AmyB\News%20Releases\About%20the%20City%20of%20Durham%20Public%20Art%20Committee> serves as an advisory body to the Durham City Council and the City Manager, and its functions include assisting the City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development on matters relating to public art; implementation of the Public Art Policy; and reviewing proposals for public art projects brought to it by the City administration; and making recommendations to the Cultural Advisory Board<http://durhamnc.gov/452/Cultural-Advisory-Board> regarding project approvals.

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[Title: City of Durham Officer of Public Affairs Contact Information]

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