Item E-8 Agenda Report — Beverly Hills City Council, February 19, 2025

AGENDA REPORT
Meeting Date: February 19, 2025
Item Number:

To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: Magdalena Davis Jones, Community Outreach Manager Subject: RECOMMENDATION BY THE RODEO DRIVE /SPECIAL EVENTS /HOLIDAY PROGRAM LIAISONS FOR RODEO DRIVE COMMITTEE
PARTNERSHIPS WITH MR. BRAINWASH AND RICHARD ORLINSKI
FOR 2025 PUBLIC ART DISPLAYS
Attachments: 1. Overview of “Rodeo Drive is a Work of Art”, Public Art Display Partnership with Rodeo Drive Committee and Mr. Brainwash, February – June 2025

2. Overview of “Richard Orlinski – Rodeo Drive Season 2” Public Art Display Partnership, July 2025 – January 2026

3. City Council Liaison/Rodeo Drive /Special Events /Holiday Program Committee Report from January 31, 2024 (without attachments)

RECOMMENDATION
This report reviews the recommendation of the Rodeo Drive /Special Events /Holiday Program Liaisons for support of partnerships between the Rodeo Drive Committee (RDC) and artists for temporary art display on Rodeo Drive in 2025 that includes Mr.

Brainwash from February – June 2025, and Richard Orlinkski from July 2025 – January 2026, as well as the recommendation of a waiver of approximately $5,486 in special event and public right of way installation permits.

INTRODUCTION
This report provides the recommendation of the Beverly Hills City Council Liaison/Rodeo Drive /Special Events /Holiday Program Committee (Liaisons) of Mayor Friedman and Councilmember Wells to support art partnerships between the RDC and artists Mr. Brainwash and Richard Orlinski, for separate public art displays in 2025:

1. The first art partnership was recommended with acclaimed artist Mr. Brainwash, including the art displays details in concept, sculpture, location, and duration, dubbed “Rodeo Drive is a Work of Art” from February - June; and

2. A separate public art display with celebrated artist Richard Orlinski, “Rodeo Drive Season 2”, which has for Liaison review the art sculpture concepts only, in Meeting Date: February 19, 2025

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order to develop and fabricate custom pieces, for a potential display from June 2025 – January 2026.

While no funding from the City was requested, a waiver of permits of $5,486 total was recommended, along with support for the displays.

DISCUSSION
The RDC has activated the street with festive public art displays that offer photo opportunities for shoppers and visitors since 2017, and with partnerships the last two years. Most recently, in 2024, successful and safe exhibitions from Mr. Brainwash and Richard Orlinski were well-received by Rodeo Drive merchants, media, and the public.

Last year, Mr. Brainwash partnered with the RDC for a heart-themed “Life is Beautiful” exhibition of sculptures during the first half of the year, while for the first time, acclaimed French artist Richard Orlinski partnered to display large-scale animal sculptures that timed with both Rodeo Drive Celebrates events starting in August, through the holiday season.

The RDC did also report to the Liaisons that the public art display programs not only activate the street, but have been well-received by both merchants and landowners.

Subsequently, with the program’s growth, they will be looking to expand the selection committee to include more participants such as landowners, and will continue to hold the artists to the highest standards of criteria, including safety, while also taking new criteria recommendations from a selection group into account for the future.

Thierry Guetta, best known by his moniker Mr. Brainwash, is a French-born street artist with worldwide recognition whose Beverly Hills contemporary art museum opened in December 2022. The proposal for the display “Rodeo Drive is a Work of Art” (Attachment 1) turns the actual brands and blocks of the iconic location into the backdrop for the art and photos, by having the public interact with large and small stationary frames. Additionally, two world-renowned art pieces, Van Gogh’s Starry Night and da Vinci’s Mona Lisa will be reimagined, each with a Beverly Hills twist, inviting the public to join in the art. Both pieces exist in the public domain and may be manipulated for display as such.

For this exhibit, there are a proposed seventeen (17) pieces total between the frames and the art displays, from February until June 2025.

A partnership with contemporary French artist Richard Orlinski is also proposed for a public art display on Rodeo Drive. The most recent exhibition, on display from August 2024 – January 2025, was the first time his neo-pop sculptures had been on public display in the region. The nine large-scale animal pieces also included one custom “Kong” piece, specifically made for Rodeo Drive. For this review, the artist is proposing “Rodeo Drive Season 2”, a specialty take on the Kong and Panther pieces that will have Meeting Date: February 19, 2025

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custom finishes in chrome, patterns, and openwork designs. Additional activations could include an art-themed coffee and sweets cart in a similar finish, with interactive animation through QR codes,
Because of the fabrication lead time, RDC sought the recommendation of Liaisons and support from City Council now. This family-friendly experience is proposed to be on display from July 2025 – January 2026; exact dates TBD so they may best correspond with the Rodeo Drive Celebrate events, and holiday décor removal. Additional details that are typically required of displays, such as the full engineering for permitting, and any potential accompanying banner design, will be brought back to the Liaisons and Council as part of the RDC’s annual workplan item for FY25-26.

As with all temporary displays, all permitting, review and inspections will be completed by our City’s special event and building and safety divisions, and there is no waiver of the City’s review process or insurance requirements requested. Each piece will be offset from the curb. A minimum 5-6 foot pedestrian pathway will be maintained, and no entrances to businesses will be blocked. All merchants that are adjacent to the pieces have approved of the artwork displays. The Rodeo Drive bollards will be coordinated with the location of the art displays. The bollards have been designed to be removed for such cases such as a temporary display, and the placement of these sculptures has been shared with the City’s teams from Public Works, who is managing the bollard process, as well as Police, Fire, and Special Event departments.

The artists’ teams, with cooperation from City staff to review and permit, will complete the installation, cleaning, maintenance, and removal of the entire display. The City will also provide the language for signs that are posted on art displayed around the City, that state no tampering with the structures, and that they are under surveillance. The RDC, with their PR and social media, will lead the marketing and promotion of the partnership, with support from the City and City partners.

FISCAL IMPACT
There is no funding request from the City for these partnerships, however a waiver of fees for the necessary permits and inspections for this public display is requested from the Rodeo Drive Committee for approval from City Council. Approximate totals are:

Permit Type Per permit cost Total Waiver
Special Event Permit x 2 $1,688 $3,376
Temporary Installation Permit x 2 $1,055 $2,110
Total Waiver Requested: $5,486
Keith Sterling,
Deputy City Manager
Approved By
Attachment 1

MR BRAINWASH

RODEO DRIVE

IS A WORK OF ART

BEVERLY HILLS
2024

1 24
57368
9 10
12 13
15 11
14 16 17
295 N RODEO DR

BEVERLY HILLS
1 SMALL SWIVEL FRAME
BASE SIZE : 72 x 72 x 12
301 N RODEO DR

BEVERLY HILLS
2 BIG SWIVEL FRAME
BASE SIZE : 72 x 96 x 12
3 BIG SWIVEL FRAME
333 N RODEO DR