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President David James (D-6) and several Members of the Louisville Metro Council on Thursday, October 10th officially unveiled the 2019 Edition of the “Art in City Hall” Exhibit which features the work of Louisville Visual Artists.
“There was a very positive response throughout the year when the public got the chance to see the wide range of artists and visual talent, we have in Metro Louisville,” says President James. “Art in City Hall will once again allow us to showcase beautiful works of those artists in an historic setting.”
“Art in City Hall” works in partnership with the Commission on Public Art to use the public lobby areas and hallways of all three floors in Historic City Hall as a display area to showcase these visual arts.
“We are excited to welcome an amazing group of Louisville artists to exhibit their work at City Hall. This is a wonderful opportunity to experience visual art in a civic building where the community gathers and shares dialogue,” said Sarah Lindgren, Public Art Administrator for Louisville Metro Government.
Louisville has a strong history of arts and cultural expression. When City Hall was built in the 1870s artists and craftsmen created a detailed façade including a locomotive with billowing steam and animals to represent the city’s identity and economic strength. Now, 150 years later, we still look to artists to communicate the distinctive identity of our city with many creative voices.
Over the summer, two members of the Louisville Metro Council, Councilwoman Paula McCraney (D-7) and Councilman Anthony Piagentini (R-19), volunteered to be part of a committee to review works of visual artists for the program.
“I was honored to serve on this year’s selection team. Art is a unique expression of an artist’s complex imagination. Artwork has different meanings to different people, and it will be interesting to hear comments throughout the year about how these chosen pieces speak to the heart and soul of employees and City Hall visitors,” said McCraney.
“Louisville is home to so many great artists such as our musicians, actors and ballet company to our visual artists who we recognized today. Our use of City Hall to share these wonderful works is an excellent way to remind the public that it is government’s job to create a safe and vibrant city so that all of our citizens have the liberty and freedom to enjoy the beauty and majesty of great art,” said Piagentini.
Art in City Hall includes six Louisville artists showing a wide variety of techniques in painting and mixed-media collage.
Those artists in the exhibit are:
- Ann Adamek
- William Duffy
- Beverly Glascock
- Jill Gross
- Shawn Marshall
- Yunier Ramirez
“Art in City Hall is a yearlong exhibit. The Council is honored to be part of an effort that we hope it continue in the coming years as we join many areas where Louisville artists show their talent and remind us that the arts have a very important place in our society,” said President James.
To learn more about Metro Louisville’s Commission in Public Art and its mission, go to: https://louisvilleky.gov/government/public-art/commission-public-art
Last week, Mayor Greg Fischer joined Metro Councilwoman Barbara Sexton Smith and community members to unveil a new public art project, the Louisville Knot.
Through a series of bent and bundled steel tubes, the Louisville Knot transforms the Ninth Street highway underpass that connects Museum Row to west Louisville into a welcoming pedestrian thoroughfare. The installation, which is illuminated at dusk, serves as an interactive sculpture and street furniture that can be used as seating, tables, a bike rack, and an extra-large swing.
“For too long, we’ve allowed an imaginary distinction to exist between downtown and west Louisville along the Ninth Street corridor. By activating this previously underutilized space, the Louisville Knot welcomes residents and visitors to explore the corridors leading to the Portland and Russell neighborhoods,” the Mayor said. “I’m delighted to already see people of all ages and backgrounds coming together at the Louisville Knot.”
The Louisville Knot came out of a call for proposals from Louisville Metro Government and Louisville Downtown Partnership seeking a project that combined art, design, and infrastructure. The design team is led by Philadelphia-based Interface Studio Architects (ISA) with fabrication by Louisville’s Core Design.
“The Knot project was a special opportunity for ISA to get to know a city – its history and people – and devise a unique intervention to help enliven an underutilized piece of urban fabric. We hope the installation not only reinforces the Main Street link across two neighborhoods but motivates creativity, sharing, and social connections among the broadest range of people who live in and visit Louisville for many years to come,” said Brian Phillips, ISA Principal.
The project was funded by Louisville Metro Government and the Rotary Club of Louisville.
“For 107 years, the Rotary Club of Louisville has supported worthy causes in our community,” said Luke B. Schmidt, Rotary Club of Louisville president. “The Club is focused on ‘Connecting our Community,’ and we believe the Louisville Knot’s location will help build a bridge as we work to eliminate the Ninth Street Divide.”
Mayor Greg Fischer announced today that the city will appeal a Cherokee Triangle Architectural Review Committee (ARC) vote that effectively denied a city plan to remove the John B. Castleman monument from its current location.
In a meeting Wednesday, ARC tied 3-3 on the city’s application to move the statue; without a majority of votes in support of the application, it was effectively denied. The city’s appeal will be submitted to the Landmarks Commission within the next 30 days.
Mayor Fischer announced plans to move the Castleman monument, as well as one of George Dennison Prentice, in August 2018, after a review of a report issued in June 2018 by the Public Art and Monuments Advisory Committee, which he’d asked to develop a guiding set of principles for evaluating existing and future public art and monuments in the city. The committee held seven public meetings in 2018, gathering hundreds of comments from residents throughout the city before submitting its report to the Mayor.
The Prentice statue was moved into storage in December. Because the Castleman statue is located in the Cherokee Triangle Preservation District, the city filed for a Certificate of Appropriateness from ARC.
Mayor Fischer said he was disappointed with the ARC vote and is hopeful that the Landmarks Commission will approve the move.
Information about the city’s review process for artworks in public places can be found online at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/public-art.
Work is beginning today to move the George Dennison Prentice statue from outside the Louisville Free Public Library’s main branch into storage at a city facility on Lexington Road.
Preparation for the move starts today, with the actual move expected on Tuesday.
Mayor Greg Fischer announced plans to move the Prentice statue and one of John Breckenridge Castleman in August, after a review of a report issued on June 30 by the Public Art and Monuments Advisory Committee, which he’d asked to develop a guiding set of principles for evaluating existing and future public art and monuments in the city.
The committee held seven public meetings early this year, gathering hundreds of comments from residents throughout the city before submitting its report to the Mayor.
In announcing the decision on the statues in August, Mayor Fischer suggested they might be moved to Cave Hill Cemetery, where both men are buried. Cave Hill declined to have the Prentice statue moved there; the city is still in discussions about moving the Castleman statue there from its existing Cherokee Triangle site.
“Mr. Prentice used his position as founder and long-time editor of the Louisville Journal to advocate an anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant message that led to the 1855 Bloody Monday riot where at least 22 people were killed,” the Mayor said. “His statue is especially inappropriate outside the library, a place that encourages education, inclusiveness and compassion.”
No decision has been made about how the site will be used after the statue is moved. Sarah Lindgren, Louisville Metro’s Public Art Administrator, said any proposed artwork or monument on public property would go through the city’s process for ensuring that our public art and monuments respect our history but reflect the values of today.
Information about the city’s proposal and review process for artworks in public places can be found online at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/public-art. From this web page one can access the Commission on Public Art guidelines, as well as documentation of the Public Art and Monuments Advisory Committee.
President David James and several Members of the Louisville Metro Council on Thursday, October 18th officially unveiled the new “Art in City Hall” Exhibit which features the work of Louisville Visual Artists.
“The purpose of this new exhibit is to have the public experience the wide range of artists and visual talent we have in Metro Louisville,” says President James. “Art in City Hall allows us to showcase beautiful works of those artists in an historic setting.”
“Art in City Hall” works in partnership with the Commission on Public Art to use the public lobby areas and hallways of all three floors in Historic City Hall as a display area to showcase these visual arts.
“The Commission on Public Art is pleased to work with the Metro Council on Art in City Hall,” said Sarah Lindgren, Public Art Administrator for Louisville Metro Government. “I would like to thank each of the artists featured in the exhibition for sharing their work in this important public space.”
Louisville has a strong history of arts and cultural expression. When City Hall was built in the 1870s artists and craftsmen created a detailed façade including a locomotive with billowing steam and animals to represent the city’s identity and economic strength. Now, 150 years later, we still look to artists to communicate the distinctive identity of our city with many creative voices.
This past summer, President James asked two members of the Louisville Metro Council, Council women Barbara Sexton Smith (D-4) and Councilwoman Angela Let (R-7), to be part of a committee to review works of visual artists for this new program.
Art in City Hall includes six Louisville artists showing a wide variety of techniques in painting and mixed-media collage. From the geometric precision of Gibbs Rounsavall’s work on the third floor, to the abstract, textured layers of Brennen Cabrera’s work on the first floor, viewers experience each artist’s unique expression of a place, an idea, or an arrangement of objects designed to challenge the artist’s hand and to provoke the viewer’s imagination.
Those artists in the exhibit are:
- Herb Bradshaw
- Brennen Cabrera
- Lynn Dunbar
- Claudia Hammer
- Gibbs Rousavall
- Frank Weisberg
“Art in City Hall is a yearlong exhibit. The Council is honored to be part of an effort that we hope it continue in the coming years as we join many areas where Louisville artists show their talent and remind us that the arts have a very important place in our society,” said President James.
To learn more about Metro Louisville’s Commission in Public Art and its mission, go to: https://louisvilleky.gov/government/public-art/commission-public-art
Mayor Fischer today announced the names of seven experts and community leaders who will serve on his new Public Art and Monuments Advisory Committee.
Originally announced in December, the Committee is charged with developing a set of principles for evaluating Louisville’s existing public art and monuments.
Committee members represent a range of disciplines and perspectives, including art, history, community building, business and political science. The members include Tricia Burke, Carolle Jones Clay, Dr. Dewey Clayton, Ashley Haynes, Dr. Tom Owen, Dr. Chris Reitz and Cathy Shannon. Reitz and Shannon represent the Commission on Public Art.
The Committee’s first meeting will be from 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7 in the auditorium of the main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library (301 York Street). From 5-5:30 p.m., Committee members will available for a meet-and-greet discussion format and the public is also invited to provide written comments during this time. Following the discussion, Committee members will summarize what they heard in the discussion and then discuss future meeting dates and public input strategies.
The scope of work for the Committee for January through June 2018 will include:
- review processes, actions and outcomes employed by other cities;
- develop strategies to receive public input;
- work with Metro staff to gather and review historical research;
- consider public opinion, historical research and the multi-disciplinary perspectives of Committee members in developing principles; and
- produce a report outlining the Committee’s methods of inquiry and findings on the matter of establishing principles to guide decisions on whether to alter, preserve or remove public art and monuments.
The set of principles that the Committee is tasked with developing will acknowledge the complexities of Louisville’s past, as well as the values that matter to us today. They will be comprehensive, rather than specific to current controversies, and informed by the work of the city’s Commission on Public Art, Compassionate City initiatives, and Historic Preservation Advisory Task Force.
The Committee will consider the historical representation of our city’s existing public art and monuments and develop principles that aspire to make public spaces welcoming and reflective of our diverse community. The principles will guide the administration’s deliberation on whether to alter, to preserve or to remove public art and monuments that may be interpreted as honoring bigotry, racism and/or slavery.
As the Committee begins its work, agendas and associated documents will be made available at Louisville Metro Public Art’s webpage: https://louisvilleky.gov/government/public-art
Mayor Greg Fischer will hold the next installment of the Mayor’s Music & Art Series on Thursday, November 16 at 5:30 p.m. in the Mayor’s Gallery at Metro Hall. The topic of the event will be The Louisville Knot, an upcoming art installation to be installed under the 9th Street underpass at Main Street.
Louisville Metro Government, in coordination with the Louisville Downtown Partnership and other stakeholders, selected a multi-disciplinary team to design and to build a public art and lighting feature to enhance the 9th Street underpass. The installation, called The Louisville Knot, proposes to enhance the 9th Street underpass by transforming it into an engaging public space, providing both an improved pathway and destination for exploration.
“The Ninth Street divide is a physical and mental barrier that unfortunately disconnects our city,” Mayor Greg Fischer said. “My administration is working in many ways—such as the CHOICE neighborhood grant in the Russell neighborhood, the revitalization of 18th & Broadway and Waterfront Phase IV—to take down that divide. The Louisville Knot brings life to an underutilized area and will capitalize on already established commercial businesses to bridge the gap between east and west.”
The team commissioned for The Louisville Knot is led by Interface Studio Architects (ISA), based in Philadelphia, and includes Shine Contracting (Louisville), Core Design (Louisville), Element Design (Lexington/Louisville) and LAM Partners (Cambridge, Massachusetts). The Mayor’s Music & Art Series event will include a presentation by ISA representatives and a conversation between Mayor Fischer and the ISA design team. Installation is anticipated for spring 2018.
For more information on The Louisville Knot, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/public-art/louisville-knot. For more information on the Mayor’s Music & Art Series, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/mayors-music-art-series
