Redmond Public Art Squashed
The public art project slated for Redmond Street was voted down by Jackson Town Council on Monday but the council agreed to pool the project’s $15,000 funds into a future initiative.
Most of the Jackson Town Council members didn’t like what they saw on Monday when members of the JH Public Art Initiative presented an artist rendering for a proposed public art project along Redmond Street. Twenty-foot steel sculptures intended to represent the lines we ski, kayak and bike is the theme behind the pieces.
Mayor Mark Barron said he appreciates art but was having a difficult time with the bulkiness of the statues, saying he didn’t think the art would be appreciated in the neighborhood. All the councilors echoed Barron’s comments except for Councilor Greg Miles, who’s on the selection committee of the Public Art Initiative. Miles defended the pieces’ relevance and encouraged the councilors not to be quick judging the art.
Carrie Geraci is the director of the Public Art Initiative. She said that although the council rejected the art for Redmond Street, which the council had hoped would serve as functional art, she’s pleased that council members voted to pool the funding into a future public art project.
“Pooling funding is a nationally established best practice in public art administration,” Geraci explained. “It allows communities to pool funds from multiple projects into one larger project that can create a bigger impact.”
Geraci said potential projects may be the five-way intersection or South Cache, to name a few. – Robyn Vincent
