An NEA Our Town Grant Provides Public Art for Three Sites in Glendale
Project descriptions courtesy of Megan Hallett, exhibit curator
Our SLC: Claim it! is a multi-year civic arts project with the west Salt Lake communities of Glendale and Poplar Grove. Working through a variety of civic engagement activities and programs, youth groups and neighborhood residents explored what it means to claim their neighborhood, its rich history, diverse cultures, and current vitality. They rendered it visible through a variety of public art making activities. This work will be used to inform public art pieces created in the surrounding neighborhood.
The goal of this project is to facilitate resident-engaged cultural planning and community arts engagement to enhance the livability of the West Salt Lake community through creative place-making.
Our SLC: Claim it! is a multi-year civic arts project with the west Salt Lake communities of Glendale and Poplar Grove. Working through a variety of civic engagement activities and programs, youth groups and neighborhood residents explored what it means to claim their neighborhood, its rich history, diverse cultures, and current vitality. They rendered it visible through a variety of public art making activities. This work will be used to inform public art pieces created in the surrounding neighborhood.
The goal of this project is to facilitate resident-engaged cultural planning and community arts engagement to enhance the livability of the West Salt Lake community through creative place-making.
"I claim the right to have social gathering places"
Oxbow
The following is the description of the goal's of the high school aged students that claimed this space.
The robust conversations around individual and community identity were key in the decision to create a meeting place. Teens, I would argue especially those in Glendale, are often defined by their rebellious and self-centered attitudes. But what I witnessed while working with them is that many were in search for place – a place to call their own where they could be their authentic selves without having to worry about poverty and/or violence, which many are survivors of. Our CityLab collective worked on designing the Oxbow to be a place where people of all ages and backgrounds come together to tell and share their stories and claim this beautiful space within their neighborhood. With this in mind they created the “Chill Space” to meet these desires and hopefully establish a place to continue to make art in that vein.
The “Chill Space” is a circular seating area with a pavilion and decorative/eco-friendly water and light features. This idea is inspired by a traditional fire pit arrangement for storytelling, and students are interested in either including an actual fire pit, or designing elements that will replicate the feel of a fire pit. They have built Lego models to represent these designs.
The following images are taken from sketches created by those students, then sketches I did based on those ideas, and then a scale model concept.
The robust conversations around individual and community identity were key in the decision to create a meeting place. Teens, I would argue especially those in Glendale, are often defined by their rebellious and self-centered attitudes. But what I witnessed while working with them is that many were in search for place – a place to call their own where they could be their authentic selves without having to worry about poverty and/or violence, which many are survivors of. Our CityLab collective worked on designing the Oxbow to be a place where people of all ages and backgrounds come together to tell and share their stories and claim this beautiful space within their neighborhood. With this in mind they created the “Chill Space” to meet these desires and hopefully establish a place to continue to make art in that vein.
The “Chill Space” is a circular seating area with a pavilion and decorative/eco-friendly water and light features. This idea is inspired by a traditional fire pit arrangement for storytelling, and students are interested in either including an actual fire pit, or designing elements that will replicate the feel of a fire pit. They have built Lego models to represent these designs.
The following images are taken from sketches created by those students, then sketches I did based on those ideas, and then a scale model concept.
Moving from Concept to Engineering
Once the concept was approved by the Salt Lake City Arts Council Design Board, the next steps involved taking it from concept to plan. That required working with the parks department to get approval for the selected site, explain what we were planning to do to the site, and get their feedback on how to best accomplish our goals. Several things needed to be taken into consideration, first the habitat needed to be protected from environmental hazards like chemicals that might leach into the soil and water. Another concern was that landscaping would not be invasive or destructive to the native plant and animals that have been introduced into the area, and finally that the structure would not create problems for the community. That process required several meetings to select and survey the site as well as conference with other stakeholders to consider whether there might be something we were missing.
One thing that was suggested in one meeting was that the site have more opportunities to be a nature study center. We are now considering the incorporation of various cloud types in the canopies, burning animal tracks into the canopy poles, and using various native species of plants in the landscaping and wood in the benches.
We now had a fairly solidified idea of what we wanted to build but because it was a structure for public use, it needed to be safe and durable, so the next step was to prepare our plans for approval by an engineer. That means thinking through each step of construction in advance and making drawings that communicate to the engineer what materials we will use, how they will attach, how deep, how high, how thick, etc. The engineer then tests all these specifications against wind sheer snow load, water table, and more. All this has to be approved before you can start to build.
These drawings show the detailed specifics of our plan as well as a photoshopped image of what the structure will look like on the site.
One thing that was suggested in one meeting was that the site have more opportunities to be a nature study center. We are now considering the incorporation of various cloud types in the canopies, burning animal tracks into the canopy poles, and using various native species of plants in the landscaping and wood in the benches.
We now had a fairly solidified idea of what we wanted to build but because it was a structure for public use, it needed to be safe and durable, so the next step was to prepare our plans for approval by an engineer. That means thinking through each step of construction in advance and making drawings that communicate to the engineer what materials we will use, how they will attach, how deep, how high, how thick, etc. The engineer then tests all these specifications against wind sheer snow load, water table, and more. All this has to be approved before you can start to build.
These drawings show the detailed specifics of our plan as well as a photoshopped image of what the structure will look like on the site.
A Mosaic for the Oxbow
The central "fire pit" for the Chill Space/ Story Circle at the Oxbow will be a mosaic representation of fire and water. The students who worked on the concept will also have the opportunity to work on the mosaic for a week in July at the Sorenson Unity Center. We will learn about the history of mosaics and watch a video on the double reverse method of constructing mosaics in Ravenna Italy.
Construction Begins August 2016
After the plans for engineering made it through the city engineering process, we were ready to begin work at the site. Step one was to deliver the "shaved" lodge pole pine trees. This batch of 9 trees are 12 feet tall and one at each bench site has animal tracks burned into them as if the animal ran up the tree with muddy feet, Below is a picture of the City Parks team picking up the poles.
8/31 the concrete is all set at the Oxbow.
To Do List: Paint Canvases install grommets (one canvas painted)
Measure for Frames X
Make Frames for canvas awnings (wood has been shaved)
Make attachment parts for frames (engineering)
Attach canvases
install awnings
install mosaic and apply rock border X
install edging for path around benches X
Purchase, deliver and add rock to path X
Locate and plant thyme or bark chips
Attach benches
Dress up concrete pillars
Goal for completion is the end of October 2016
To Do List: Paint Canvases install grommets (one canvas painted)
Measure for Frames X
Make Frames for canvas awnings (wood has been shaved)
Make attachment parts for frames (engineering)
Attach canvases
install awnings
install mosaic and apply rock border X
install edging for path around benches X
Purchase, deliver and add rock to path X
Locate and plant thyme or bark chips
Attach benches
Dress up concrete pillars
Goal for completion is the end of October 2016