DATE:
October 17, 2023
TO:
Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
FROM:
Chadrick Smalley, Community Development Director
SUBJECT:
Resolution Of The City Council Of The City Of Emeryville Approving The Purchase Of Artworks For The City’s Annual Purchase Award Program Entitled Dollar Store By Emeryville Artist Michael Farruggia And Chroma Clusters #1, #3 And #4 By Erin Fong With Funding Of Up To $11,500 From The Public Art Fund (Fund 243) For The Purchase And Installation Of The Artworks, And Acknowledging John Whitehead’s The Numen Of The Wood As The Honorable Mention Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached Resolution to purchase art works for the City’s Annual Purchase Award Program. The artworks are entitled Dollar Store by Emeryville artist Mike Farrugia and Chroma Clusters #1, #3 and #4 by Emeryville artist Erin Fong. The estimated cost to purchase and install the artworks is $11,500, including purchase prices of $5,500 and up to $6,000 for installation. Additionally, $13,000 in other administrative costs, available in the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Operating Budget in the Public Art Fund (Fund 243), are anticipated to be necessary, bringing the total cost to no more than $24,500. Further, the attached Resolution acknowledges John Whitehead’s The Numen of the Wood as The Honorable Mention.
Background
The 37th Annual Emeryville Celebration of the Arts Exhibition (Exhibition) opened on October 6, 2023, and will run through October 29, 2023. For the past seventeen years, the City’s Purchase Award Program has supported the Exhibition through the purchase of artwork for display in City facilities. The intent of the City’s Purchase Award Program is to build the City’s permanent art collection through acquisition of art works on an annual basis from the Emeryville Celebration of the Arts Exhibition. The program is also intended to highlight the City’s commitment to the arts and its local artistic community and improve visitors’ experiences in public facilities. Potential sites for this year’s Purchase Award artwork include City Hall, the Emeryville Center of Community Life (ECCL), and the Senior Center. As all participants in the Exhibition are either residents or people working in Emeryville, the Purchase Award reflects the talents and abilities of those within Emeryville.
Selection Panel
On September 15, 2023, the City Manager appointed a five-person Selection Panel, with an alternate for each panelist, based on the September 14, 2023 recommendation of the Public Art Committee (PAC). The members of the Selection Panel are: 1) Derrick Bell, as outside arts professional; 2) Benjamin Bailie Trautman, as outside arts professional; 3) Dr. Zoë Chafe, as a community member; 4) Frances Gaston, as Emeryville Celebration of the Arts (ECA) Board Representative; and 5) Alyssa Chung, as City staff representative. The Selection Panel alternates were: 1) Laura Rifkin, community member; 2) Simone O. Gage, outside arts professional; 3) Pam Mendelsohn and Kava Massih, ECA, and 4) Lois Porter, City staff representative. The Selection Panel convened on October 4, 2023, to review the artworks installed at the Exhibition available for sale for consideration for the Purchase Award, and to make a recommendation of artwork to be purchased by the City. The Panel’s recommendation was presented to the PAC on October 5, 2023.
Selection Process
The Selection Panel began the process with review of the existing collection in City Hall and the Senior Center and available spaces in and around the facilities. Additionally, the Selection Panel reviewed the potential sites for art at the ECCL. Potential sites at each facility included those reviewed by the PAC at its September 14, 2023, meeting.
Potential sites at each facility include:
City Hall
Interior
Wall adjacent to the stairwell from 1st to 2nd floor in City administration building under a south-facing window (below the 2020 purchase) Wall and landing in stairwell from 2nd to 3rd Floor
Wall above the staff entry on north side of staff area on the 2nd floor (requires relocation of a poster) Lobby area floor spaces, appropriate for a stand-alone sculpture or an art work in a covered vitrine Entries from the east to Old Town Hall on the 1st and 2nd floors (small walls on western ends of the link between buildings, requires donated pieces to be relocated).
Exterior
Front landscape
Rear courtyard
Senior Center
First floor ballroom wall niche (clock cubby)
Wall area to the north of the entry lobby (a small niche) Large panels on the east and south walls of the second-floor multi-purpose room, including a large wall (south side) Emeryville Center of Community Life
Lobby of the large Multipurpose Room
Senior Lounge walls
Aquatic Center Lobby (assuming appropriate materials)
The Selection Panel then convened at the Exhibition site to review all works available for purchase. The Selection Panel members provided a score on a sheet listing each artwork that was available for consideration. To avoid conflicts of interest, works being shown by current members of the PAC, City Council, and City staff or consultants were not considered for the 2023 Purchase Award. Other art not considered for purchase included works that were not available for sale, works created by artists whose work has been purchased through the Purchase Award Program in the last five years, and artwork with dimensions that would not fit into the potentially available locations.
In the first round of selection, the Panelists individually viewed the eligible works among the over 180 artworks by 126 artists and selected their top five choices. Artists were ranked on a scale of 1 to 5 according to the following criteria:
Aesthetic Quality
Public Appeal
Curatoria Focus
Longevity
This process resulted in a short list of 25 art works. Of the total 25 short listed selections, seven pieces were included within the top five artworks, by two or more panelists. The group walked the gallery space together and revisited these seven top pieces and two additional pieces that panelists felt should be reconsidered. A total of eight artworks were then scored individually by panelists. Two artworks scored the highest with matching scores for consideration of purchase and a third artwork was noted for honorable mention. Erin Fong’s “Chroma Clusters #1, #3 and #4” and Mike Farruggia’s “Dollar Store” each received 90 points. John Whitehead’s wooden sculpture “The Numen of Wood” received 79 points.
Discussion
At its meeting on October 5, 2023, the PAC discussed the Selection Panel’s recommendations and voted to recommend the purchase of Mike Farruggia’s “Dollar Store” and Erin Fong’s “Chroma Clusters #1, #3 and #4,” and to acknowledge John Whitehead’s “The Numen of Wood” for Honorable Mention.
Art Work Description
Mike Farruggia’s “Dollar Store” measures 49” x 49” and was completed in 2023 from materials found solely in a dollar store. He has three pieces in the Exhibition. The purchase price of the artwork is $4,000.
Mike Farrugia is a multidisciplinary artist whose work is influenced by three-dimensional experimentation and reuse. His work is currently on view at the Bedford Gallery at Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, as part of the Recology Artist in Residence retrospective traveling exhibition.
Erin Fong’s “Chroma Clusters #1, #3 and #4” are each 11.5˝ x 8.75˝ x 1.75˝ The purchase price of the artworks is $1,500 for all three.
Erin Fong is a letterpress printer and multidisciplinary artist who creates art that celebrates the power of color, human connection, and experimentation. Her works range from prints and painting to large-scale site-specific installations. Ms. Fong’s work was recently selected for the City’s Sharon Wilchar Bus Shelter Art Program and will be on display January through April 2025.
John Whitehead’s wood and metal sculpture is titled “The Numen of Wood.” The work is made of African mahogany, walnut, and powder-coated stainless steel, and measures 66.5˝ x 13˝ x 13˝ The purchase price of the artwork is $11,000.
John Whitehead is a sculpture artist working with metal and wood materials. His work is largely influenced by abstract geometric shapes, contemporary patterns, and African diasporic paradigms. His work has been included in the last four Emeryville Celebration of the Arts Exhibitions.
Location’s Considered
The Purchase Award recommendation “Dollar Store” is for installation at the ECCL. Locations under consideration at ECCL include either the Lobby of the Multipurpose room or the Swim Center. “Chroma Clusters #1, #3 and #4” may be located in either of these locations or can be accommodated at the Senior Center or City Hall. The artists and staff in the Community Services Department will be consulted to determine preferred conditions for installation, among a short list of options in these areas.
Next Steps
Following the purchase of the works by the City and the conclusion of the Exhibition, staff will work with the artists to install the artworks. Plaques will be installed near the artworks naming the artist, artwork title, and medium, and indicating its inclusion in Emeryville’s permanent art collection. A reception is planned for early December 2023 in coordination with the artists.
Fiscal Impact
Funds from the Public Art Fund (Fund 243) have been utilized for the project’s administrative expenses and are proposed for the remainder of the purchase’s costs. The cost to purchase the art works is $5,500. Installation costs are estimated to be $3,000 to $6,000. Administrative costs include $10,000 in consulting services, $1,400 for the reception event and outreach, $1,200 to $1,600 in plaque and stipend costs, for a total of up to $24,500.
The Public Art Fund’s operating budget for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 includes sufficient funds to cover these costs.
Staff Communication with the Public
As noted above, on October 5, 2023, the PAC reviewed the Selection Panel’s recommendation to purchase either Michael Farrugia’s artwork “Dollar Store” or Erin Fong’s three works and to acknowledge the other as the First Honorable Mention and to acknowledge John Whitehead as Honorable Mention. The PAC recommended purchase of both Michael Farrugia’s and Erin Fong’s works and to acknowledge John Whitehead as Honorable Mention.
Conflict of Interest
City staff, the PAC and City Council members and their spouses are all precluded from consideration in the Purchase Award Program, as are artists whose work was purchased through the Purchase Award Program from 2018 through 2022.
Conclusion
The Purchase Award of 2023 will continue a seventeen-year tradition of supporting local artists through purchase by the City. This program and the Sharon Wilchar Bus Shelter Art Program are the City’s only art programs specifically designed to support Emeryville residents and workers. Support for local artists was confirmed as a top goal in the 2016 Public Art Master Plan. Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached resolution approving the purchase of “Dollar Store” by Michael Farrugia and “Chroma Clusters #1, #3 and #4” by Erin Fong and acknowledging John Whitehead as Honorable Mention.
PREPARED BY: Amber Evans, Community & Economic Development Coordinator II REVIEWED BY: Chadrick Smalley, Community Development Director Approved and Forwarded to the
City Council of the City of Emeryville:
Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
Attachments
Attachment 1 – Artwork Images
Attachment 2 – Artists’ Biographies
Draft Resolution
2023 Purchase Award
| October 17, 2023
City of Emeryville
CALIFORNIA
MEMORANDUM