A plan to display public art in various downtown Philomath locations is beginning to take shape with the city moving closer to distributing a call for artists.
The Philomath Public Art Committee reviewed the draft version of the document Thursday evening for the program, which aims to place rotating sculptures on existing plinths installed as part of the Downtown Philomath Safety and Streetscape Improvements Project.
To begin, the program will feature sculptures in four and possibly up to six locations. Initial sites include plinths located at 10th and Applegate, 13th and Applegate, 14th and Main, 13th and Main, 11th and Main, and mid-block between the Philomath Museum and Philomath Fire and Rescue on Main Street. In all, the city has 11 concrete plinths.
According to the draft document, selected artists will receive a $1,500 honorarium per sculpture and enter into a two-year lease agreement with the city. Artwork must be freestanding, not exceed 10 feet tall, and be suitable for outdoor display. Sculptures can weigh up to 1,000 pounds, though heavier pieces may be considered based on installation capabilities, the document states.
Assistant City Manager Chelsea Starner said the call for artists is expected to be published Feb. 2 with applications due March 3. If that timeline materializes, selected finalists would be notified in late March with installation required to be completed by mid-June.
The program will be open to artists from Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Nevada and Alaska.
The draft document stated that the committee would give preference to local artists and sculptures reflecting themes of natural beauty, history, timber heritage or other elements relevant to Philomath. However during the meeting, there was some debate about how that particular paragraph should be worded.
The public art program encountered an unforeseen complication involving steel plates needed to attach sculptures to the plinths.
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t identified when these were put in,” Starner said. “It could be that there was a different idea in mind at that point or it could be that it just got overlooked as I think the landscape designers had suggested this from some other cities that had done similar things.”
Starner added, “We are having those engineered so that they can withstand the weight of such a sculpture being on there.”
Starner did not have any estimates on the cost of adding the steel plates and wasn’t sure if the city has a certified welder or if a contractor would need to be hired.
The uncertainty over engineering costs is one reason why the city may initially focus on four sculptures rather than six, Starner said.
“I did put four to six (sculptures) in the document but when we start looking at the structural engineer costs, we’re unsure yet how much it will cost to actually put those plates on,” Starner said. “But we will focus on the locations that are kind of the primary initial locations and then we’ll probably look to fix the rest of them when we have a more permanent art installation in mind.”
Starner said the call for artists will be promoted through various channels.
She contacted Happy Valley, located in Clackamas County southeast of Portland, for insight into that community’s public art program.
The original thought was to offer a lease amount of $1,000 per sculpture — the amount that Happy Valley pays — but the city increased it to $1,500 “just hopefully to get more people encouraged,” Starner said.
“We are further out than Happy Valley, which is in a pretty central location, and people might have to travel more,” she added. “So with that, I think we’ll be able to get up to four pieces.”
Starner said she has more research to complete before the document’s release and to come up with a solid estimate for the additional cost of adding the steel bases.