Arts and Culture in Gainesville&Alachua County

APPT - Art in Public Places Trust

Gainesville Public Art Master Plan

Purpose
This plan establishes an overall focus for the City of Gainesville's Public Art. It establishes evaluation policies for the selection and location of artwork purchased by the City, donated by other entities, or acquired through other means. All Public Art on public property is subject to the criteria included in this plan. This includes permanent fine art pieces, temporary popular artwork, murals, monuments, memorials, and embellishments to infrastructure elements such as sidewalks, medians, and roads. By defining parameters, goals and priorities, the City will impart a more aesthetic, cohesive visual and physical appearance. These factors will enhance the quality of life for residents and provide an important positive impression for visitors. This plan is mandated by the City's Art in Public Places Ordinance. The City Comprehensive Plan's Urban Design Element, The Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization's Mural Guidelines, the City/County Memorials and Monuments Policy, and other official procedures which address visual arts issues will fold into his plan. The Florida Community Design Center will serve as a catalyst for future planning.

Public Art is defined as original works of art that are created for and installed at public sites that provide wide access to citizens of and visitors to the greater Gainesville area. Art should be unique, provoke thought or emotion, or express ideas or perspectives. Artworks must be of excellent quality, technically sound, of appropriate scale, and if permanent, should have a timeless aesthetic sensibility. Ultimately, the goal is to enrich the public environment visually. Design disciplines such as architecture, landscape, and all urban design elements are also part of this overall vision, and criteria for their selection and incorporation should have aesthetic consideration by professionals from those fields.

Overall Goal
The mission of the art in public places program is to enhance the quality of the visual environment in the Gainesville community, both natural and built; and in so doing add to the visual quality of life and raise the level of citizen awareness to the importance of aesthetic and intellectual experiences in everyday life. This is consistent with the goal of the state comprehensive plan: "Florida shall increase access to its historical and cultural resources and programs and encourage the development of cultural programs of national excellence."

Specifically, public art in Gainesville will be used:

To increase public access to art and to promote understanding and awareness of the visual arts in the public realm
To contribute to the civic pride and economic development of our community
To enhance the climate for artistic creativity in our community
To enrich the public realm for both residents and visitors to the area through incorporation of the visual arts
To enable our community to attain recognition as a regional and national leader in the visual arts as a vital element in cultural life

1.1 The City of Gainesville shall maintain its Art in Public Places ordinance to assist in funding Public Art projects.

1.2 Beginning in 2004, every three years the Art in Public Places Trust shall evaluate existing and proposed public projects for the incorporation of public art as described in this plan. Public projects may include, but are not limited to:
· Gateway and Signature Streets
· Street Vistas (dead ends, roundabouts, "T" intersections)
· Street Medians
· Street Intersections
· Sidewalks and Sidewalk Ramps
· Street Furniture
· Street Lights, Manhole Covers, Tree Grates, Fence Railings
· Paving, Water Features, Bridges, Overpasses
· Parks, Squares, Plazas
· Bus Stops
· Signs
· Public Buildings and Building Lobbies

1.3.1 Every three years the Art in Public Places Trust will report progress of projects within this plan. By 2005, all proposed public projects shall incorporate public art as described in this plan, unless deemed inappropriate or infeasible by the City.

Definitions
City Ordinance No. 3509, § 1, 1-23-89 spells out definitions of art, architectural enhancement, special landscape treatment, construction, and other terms which define the parameters of the Public Art Program.

Art is defined as the unique product of a skilled artist (or group of artists) who works according to aesthetic principles and includes, but is not limited to, paintings, sculpture, engravings, murals, mobiles, photographs, drawings and works in fabric. The work must be unique, provoke thought or emotions, and express a new idea or perspective.

The Ordinance also states that the following shall not be considered works of art: mechanical or other reproductions, commercially produced items, architectural rehabilitation, and historic preservation.

Sites that should be considered for Art
In addition to placing more traditional fine art works such as sculpture or murals in specific locations, many aspects of infrastructure may be enhanced by collaboration between artists, designers and the City Departments such as Public Works, Transit, Parks and Recreation, etc. Potential infrastructure elements for enhancement include:

Streets and Intersections
Because the average household now makes approximately 11 car trips each day from the home to daily destinations, streets and intersections are the most publicly visible forms of public infrastructure in the city. Streets and intersections can therefore create a profound, fundamental image of the community. Neglected, broken down streets and intersections send a clear message to residents and visitors that the community is run down. Conversely, attractive and well-maintained streets and intersections inform travelers that the community is healthy and attractive. Given this highly visible location and several daily opportunities to send visual messages to travelers, streets and intersections are ideal, powerful venues for public art. Construction or reconstruction of streets and intersections can contain such features as brick or metallic inlays, or colored asphalt.

Street Vista Terminations (cul-de-sacs, roundabouts, dead ends, "T" intersections)
Streets sometimes terminate at dead ends, "T" intersections, cul-de-sacs, or roundabouts. In each case, such a "street vista" becomes a high-visibility location for those using the street, and forms a "destination" or goal to be reached by the traveler. Public art can greatly enhance such locations.

Medians
Raised medians in the middle of streets generally create linear spaces that can be enhanced with public art, and art structures can be less of a maintenance cost for a community than the maintenance of vegetation.

Sidewalks and Sidewalk Ramps
Sidewalks and sidewalk ramps, like streets and intersections, are high-visibility community locations. When people walk on sidewalks, they tend to mostly look down at their feet where they are walking. Sidewalks or sidewalk ramps are therefore ideal locations for public art. Construction of sidewalks and ramps can include such features as imprinting and brick or metallic inlays.

Parks, Squares, Plazas
Public parks, squares, and plazas are community gathering places-oftentimes places of commemoration or celebration. Senior citizens and children are especially drawn to public parks. Public art can be particularly appealing and educational to those age groups. In addition, public parks, squares, and plazas often contain open areas that can be enlivened by public art. Similarly, open areas can benefit from a more comfortable "human scaling" of that space when it is framed with certain forms of public art structures.

Street Furniture
Street furniture such as public benches create a number of opportunities for incorporating public art into a community. Such furniture tends to be located in places that are extremely visible-particularly to pedestrians.

Bus Stops
Bus stops are sometimes drab locations to wait for a transit vehicle. Public art can be a useful way to make the wait at the transit stop more interesting, and perhaps, in a subtle way, create a better public image for using transit by those who do not now use it.

Signs
Signs are not normally considered opportunities for public art, but there are times when a sign benefits from the style, grace, or visibility that public art can convey. Signs can have aesthetic qualities that are creative, interesting and functional instead of average or expected.

Street Lights
Street lights are an excellent venue for public art-making the environment more distinctive, attractive or interesting.

Water Treatment Plants and other Public Works Projects
Functional city facilities can become artworks, parks, or other inviting areas.

Major Civic Buildings
Major civic buildings should serve an "emblematic" role that describes the importance or significance of the community. By doing so successfully, civic buildings can serve as a wellspring for civic pride. Public art can play a uniquely fundamental role in conveying importance, building community spirit, and promoting civic pride. Map 1 in the Appendix identifies major civic buildings in Gainesville that represent future (or potential) public art opportunities.

Lobbies
Lobbies in buildings shouldn't be cold and office-like in appearance. Those waiting for service in a lobby can benefitfrom the incorporation of public art in such spaces.

Public Art Focus Areas in Gainesville

Gateways
Gateways offer the most immediate way to create a first impression of a city. Gateways are very prominent entryways to Gainesville, and therefore play an important role in illustrating the character of Gainesville in the mind of the newcomer. The gateway street generally gives a newcomer, visitor or resident a general feeling about the quality and nature of the city. Public art can be an excellent way to convey positive overall impressions.

A number of gateways have been designated in the city. They begin at city limits and generally run for a number of blocks.

· South Main Street
· SW 13th Street from Archer Road South
· NW 13th Street from 39th Avenue North
· Waldo Rd to 8th Avenue
· NW 31st Avenue
· SW 2nd Avenue
· Hawthorne Road

University Avenue (Signature Street)
University Avenue is a Signature Street in Gainesville. It is therefore important to embellish and enliven the Avenue with prominent, meaningful features such as public art.

Main Street (Signature Street)
Like University Avenue, Main Street is a Signature Street that will soon be reconstructed, providing a number of opportunities along its length for the incorporation of public art.