Consultant seeks to spark Mass. Ave. public art

Cecily Miller, public-art consultant seeks to engage public

To help form public art as part of the Mass. Ave. project in East Arlington, the town has found a consultant with “spark.”

Cecily Miller, an award-winning arts manager who served as the first executive director of the Somerville Arts Council and the Forest Hills Educational Trust, brings to Arlington advice called “Spark Art” — the name of her website. 

Miller, who will advise Arlington artists how to proceed for the next year under $12,000 that Town Meeting approved last May, was introduced to the selectmen Monday, Sept. 21. Her own introduction had verve.

“We don’t yet know what it’s going to be,” she said, referring to the public art. “We do know we want to engage artists.”

She shared a story to illustrate how the public creative process can work.

A group of veterans in Somerville envisioned a Korean War memorial, and they knew just what they wanted. They brought in photographs that showed in detail what the memorial — a monument to “the forgotten war” — would look like.

Here’s where the creativity came in: From a preconcieved notion, those involved worked toward a wholly different result.

As described at “Korean War Memorial” by Ted Clausen, “Miller held three meetings with these veterans to discuss their war time experiences, and comprehensive notes were made available to three artists selected to develop proposals.

“Clausen’s proposal used the words of these veterans to tell their story, inscribed in a stone wall topped by bronze sculptures of some of the evocative objects used every day during the war. For his final design, Clausen collected his own interviews from diverse veterans and chose a canteen and trench tool as familiar mementos to represent wartime experience.

“The names and dates of those who died in the war are also inscribed in stone. The veterans participating in the commissioning process were enthusiastic about the final work. ‘I would never have thought of this … It’s perfect,’ reported one member.”

Focus on Arlington

Selectmen Joseph Curro Jr. acknowledged Miller’s role in guiding community input and put the focus on Arlington.

He said the town’s Commission on Arts and Culture is working on a proposal to have parts of Arlington, from the — Center to the east — named as a cultural district proposal. Part of the project is an interactive map, which has some gaps.

The proposed public art might become part of that, he suggested.

In any event, let the public be involved.

Adria Arch, the Arlington artist who stepped down this summer from leading the successful fund-raiser Chairful Where You Sit to a fourth year, is the point person for the project on which Miller is consulting.

Arlington Public Arts is scheduled to meet Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Fox Branch Library Community Room.

After that, a workshop/open meeting is set with True Story Theater on Thursday, Nov. 4, from 7 to 9 p.m., in the Robbins Library community room. 

Here are highlights of Miller’s proposal to be a consultant:

Arlington seeks a consultant to lead it through a process to commission public art that will enrich cultural life in the community and contribute to the economic vitality and public profile of East Arlington. This document introduces my qualifications to assist the town in refining and realizing these goals and then offers a relatively low-cost and high-impact model for moving forward: a temporary, participatory, site-responsive art project developed for the public spaces of the commercial district along Mass. Ave., East Arlington.

A large-scale temporary and participatory project would build on the success of initiatives such as the Transformer Box Project — see the latest here >>

No funding is in place to implement a permanent commission and currently there is no identified staff, organization or volunteer leadership who has this responsibility.

However, if the Town of Arlington decides that a permanent commission is the preferred option, I would be happy to lead a community-based process to develop a site profile and RFQ, to oversee the artist selection process, and to deliver an inspiring proposal from the selected artist which could be used as a basis for fund-raising.

After serving as a leader in the community arts field for more than 20 years, I now consult on projects that bring together artists and people from all walks of life to create meaningful public art projects that enhance and celebrate a sense of community and place.

As the first director of the Somerville Arts Council, I led a process that developed an all-volunteer commission into one of the most highly regarded city arts agencies in the Commonwealth. In addition to administering $70k in grants annually, I oversaw two permanent public art projects (one as part of development in Union Square and the other a Korean War Memorial).

Other projects were the annual ArtBeat Festival and holiday light Illuminations Tour to the Mystic River Mural Project, the fare’s first Switchbox Project and an oral history/photography project focused on ethnic gardens.

As executive director of the Forest Hills Educational Trust in Boston, I pioneered the use of a beautiful historic site and arboretum as a venue for site-responsive temporary art.

See her blog, StopGoLinger.blogspot.com. 

Conceptual Proposal: Public Art in East Arlington

This proposal outlines a process in partnership with East Arlington businesses, the Arlington Public Art Committee, arts activists and interested residents to shape a successful temporary public-art initiative that will expand the town’s identity as a community that values and promotes the arts without requiring a daunting investment of financial resources.

My goals in developing a temporary art program for Arlington will include:

• Facilitating a public dialogue exploring the possibilities for innovative and experimental public art in Arlington.

• Engaging the local business community and town residents in project planning and implementation.

• Developing a work that reflects the character and/or history of East Arlington.

• Selecting an artist who can shape positive experiences for public participation and lead the creation of a work that increases the sense of identity and place in this area of the Mass. Ave. corridor.

• Managing a high-quality project that will inspire participation and provide a model for future efforts.

• Building community support for future public art initiatives.

• Identifying sources that will help to sustain Arlington’s commitment to public art.

Other examples of temporary art:

• Ross Miller’s banners made of small lights woven into a pattern of stars suspended over the streets of Harvard Square, which festively illuminate the area at night.

• Magda Sayeg’s colorful knitted sleeves for 69 parking meters along one street in multicultural Brooklyn; sleeves were donated by people across the country.

• Liz LaManche’s “tattooed” mural of maritime motifs from around the globe inked onto the surface of a concrete pier in the Boston Harbor Ship Yard in East Boston.

• Dan Sternof Beyer and Bevan Weisman’s interactive kiosk containing recorded observations and stories they collected from neighborhood residents living near the Boston Center for the Arts plaza, where the piece was located.

As part of an initial yearlong implementation process, I propose to organize a series of public presentations about projects like these, in order to expand Arlington residents’ vision of what can be accomplished through public art initiatives, to spread the word about Arlington’s plans, and to build participation and support from the community. These could take place throughout the project, and during Phase 4 outlined below.

Proposed Project Phases

A potential phased project implementation process is outlined below to help Town of Arlington decision- makers design a possible project approach. This approach is flexible and will have mutually agreed upon checkpoints with the key stakeholders/decision makers that may require revisions to the timeline as the project unfolds.

PHASE I: Introduction (September to November)

• Meet with stakeholders, decision makers and possible collaborators to understand their individual needs, goals, and desired participation level.
• Hold an open community meeting in East Arlington.
• Identify and convene a Project Advisory Group.
• Public presentations of inspirational/model projects.
• Start outreach to artists.

PHASE 2: Assessment (November to April)

• Public presentation of inspirational/model projects.
• Host three to five meetings with Project Advisory Group to develop site profile, project goals and conceptual underpinnings.
• Write-up minutes or report from these meetings that will be made available to selected artist to guide their project development.
• Finalize project design and budget.

PHASE 3: Fund-raising (April to May)

• Write a fund-raising plan with input and participation from the Project Advisory Group, stakeholders, the local business community and the town manager.
• Support the Project Advisory Group, stakeholders, the local business community and town manager in securing funds.

PHASE 4: Mini-projects (April to September)

Plan and implement 2-5 small scale public art happenings in East Arlington to raise visibility for the project and celebrate completion of the street scape. For example: bring John Tagiuri’s giant chess set to East Arlington for a chess festival (in collaboration with the Arlington Library) or invite artists to decorate the poles of parking meters.

PHASE 5: Artist Selection (May to September)

This phase could be shortened and simplified if the artists are chosen without a public process. For example, I could act as curator and invite a smaller number of experienced artists to apply, and the final candidate could be selected by the Project Advisory Group or by an Art Jury. For the purposes of this proposal, I have outlined a public process.

• Write and issue a public Request for Qualifications to the artistic community. Solicit applications from identified artists. Process applications.
• Convene an Art Jury.
• Manage an artist selection process inviting 3-5 artists to submit preliminary proposals and selecting one or two for implementation.

Phase 6: Contract with Artist (September 2016)

• Work with artist and town manager to finalize artist’s scope of service and plan for community outreach/participation.

Phase 7: Implementation (Timeline TBD by selected artist’s proposal)

• Organize a kick-off event.
• Work with artist, Project Advisory Committee, Town of Arlington and other stakeholders to oversee project

o Manage community engagement
o Secure additional resources and permissions as necessary
o Oversee installation.

• Organize celebration and any collateral events.

Phase 8: Conclusion

• Project evaluation.
• Determine whether to continue with new temporary projects, perhaps on an annual cycle, or work toward a permanent commission.
• Develop plan for future initiatives.

This kind of initiative can grow into an annual event, perhaps staged at different locations, or can lay the groundwork for a permanent commission.

Options and Budget

This proposal suggests that the town focus on temporary rather than permanent art installations. Accordingly, this proposal does not include a timeline and budget for a permanent commission; Phase
3, Fund-raising, would be expanded to support a permanent work if this is chosen as the desired outcome of the project.

The scope of a temporary art project will vary according to the size of the budget for artist’s time and materials. Modest funds are also necessary for associated programming, events and publicity. To avoid immediate fund-raising challenges it will make sense for Arlington to launch this process with a realistic budget and corresponding expectations.

Ideally, Chairful Where You Sit would continue into FY2016 and provide a proven mechanism for raising funds this public art initiative. A part of this consultancy could include working with
Adria Arch and other volunteers to facilitate a new model where the leadership and workload for this vital and successful initiative are shared. In any case, an initial budget projection of
$5,000 to $10,000 for artist’s stipend and materials seems reasonable; this number will need to be tested during the Assessment and Fund-raising Phases.

Permanent Commission

Permanent commissions have to be engineered to withstand weather and physical stresses just like any element of street furniture, but have additional cost of being unique and innovative — comparable to a “prototype” versus being manufactured in quantity. Durable materials, footings and pavings or other surface treatment usually require an artist to contract out fabrication and installation. In this context, $100,000 is a modest budget.

If the town prefers to aim for a permanent commission, I would recommend a similar process for developing goals and a site profile. I would implement a 2-tiered process to select the artist:

• Issue an RFQ;
• Convene an art jury to review these applications;
• Select 3 to 5 artists to develop proposals;
• Make a final selection for the commission based on these proposals; and,
• Obtain a detailed proposal with accurate specs for fabrication and installation from the finalist to use for fund-raising.

The fund-raising plan and implementation will become a more central aspect of the project. The larger budget needed to ensure successful completion would require a solid fund-raising plan with identified sources and fund-raising leadership (volunteer and/or staff). Typically, but certainly not always, at least some funding should be in place before an artist is selected, and/or a likely source of funding such as a community foundation have signaled interest.

However, communities have successfully raised funds after selection, using an artist’s visionary proposal as an inspiring basis for fund-raising. In this case, in order to attract qualified candidates to a project that is not guaranteed, the Town would have to plan to pay significant proposal development fees to 3 (or more) competing candidates selected from the RFQ.

Consultant Fee

Given the $12,000 budget available, I propose a fee of $10,000 for the services outlined in this proposal, and I propose to allocate the remaining $2,000 towards the artist’s fee for project implementation so that there is seed money in place. Funds would also have to be secured for speaker’s fees, printing, and any associated special events (such as refreshments or music at an opening celebration).

If the Town of Arlington decides in favor of a permanent commission, I would propose a consulting fee of $12,000 to cover an expanded fund-raising component.

This story was published Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015.