Downtown art to change this year
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on July 15, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
The current downtown sculpture Dreamsicle is seen in a Center Street roundabout. New artwork will be installed later this year.
The prominently displayed artwork along Center Street in two roundabouts will be switched out this year and replaced by new pieces.
The process of picking new sculptures will start this month, with a public art steering committee meeting and subsequent public feedback.
"That was always the plan to rotate the pieces every year," said Julie Metz, Goldsboro downtown development director. "We just thought it would be nice to rotate them to keep them fresh and interesting."
Two of the larger downtown art pieces are displayed in Center Street roundabouts and include the 13-foot-tall, orange-colored steel Dreamsicle sculpture, at Center and Chestnut streets, and the Natural Embrace Venus flytrap, at Center and Mulberry streets.
The bird-mounted Flight piece is displayed in the Center Street parking lot where the Center Street Jam series is held, and the Genesis granite and steel sculpture is nearby in the median along the 100 block of North Center Street.
The addition of public art wasn't originally planned by downtown developers but was later added during the streetscape decision-making process. Unlike most of the $15 million streetscape project, primarily funded through a $10 million federal grant and additional city funds, the public art pieces are being leased through the city's general fund budget.
"When the city decided to add two additional roundabouts to the Center Street streetscape design, we needed to identify a feature that would be placed in each of the spaces," Metz said.
"Art seemed like the most logical step because we had already created a vision for downtown that had us working on ways to make downtown an art and cultural center of the city and use art to make it more interesting and spur development."
Incorporating art is part of a larger downtown plan, after Goldsboro was more recently named a smART community, which includes N.C. Arts Council funding of $30,000 per year for the next two to four years. The funding can be used for the implementation of public art and arts-based economic development. The grant is currently being used to pay for the development and implementation of a downtown public art master plan.
ART COMMITTEE
A public art steering committee, composed of city staff and residents, plans to meet on July 25 in the Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp. office to review at least 50 art possibilities.
Jim Davis, with Sculpture in the Landscape in Cary, will present the options and offer guidance, based on his art experience. Davis, who is under a $2,5000 city contract, solicited a call for artists and will coordinate the removal and installation of the art. Metz said.
The committee plans to trim the selections to 10 to 13 art pieces. After the top pieces are picked, city staff will provide information about each on the city of Goldsboro website. Information will also be posted to the DGDC website and Facebook site, with both directing viewers back to the city website.
Comments and public feedback will be received and considered by the committee as the dozen pieces are narrowed to a smaller selection. The pieces will then be recommended to the Goldsboro City Council for final approval, Metz said.
FALL INSTALLATION
An installation ceremony is planned on Oct. 14, the same day that the current pieces will be removed and either sold or returned to each artist.
A website is marketing the art for sale at http://sculptures.goldsboronc.gov. Natural Embrace is selling for $40,000, Dreamsicle for $38,000, Flight for $12,000 and Genesis for $3,000.
The artists plan to deliver the art to any local buyer on the day of the installation ceremony, Metz said.
CITY INVESTMENT
The city leased three of the pieces at a cost of $6,000, or $2,000 each for the year. A group of residents paid the $1,000 annual leasing cost for Genesis.
This year, the city has budgeted $5,500 that will cover the cost of a small sculpture, estimated to cost $1,500, and two larger public art pieces, estimated at $2,000 each, Metz said. City officials could decide to lease two or three pieces, and donations are being accepted for additional art, she said.
IMPACT
The city funded art has drawn some concern from residents and also captured praise from others interested in promoting downtown revitalization.
"Art is vitally important to downtown growth," Metz said. "We've been looking for ways to increase the arts culture in downtown."
The art has attracted visitors and local residents and served as a backdrop for photos, including high school prom pictures, she said.
"The downtown art has been more beneficial than we hoped or perceived it would be," Metz said.