At the informational meeting this Tuesday the mayor’s office is still pushing for this position after the council has already denied the position last year;
A. Arts Task Force Update on Arts Coordinator Position by Jeff Eckhoff, Director of Planning and Development Services; and, Janet Brown, Arts Task Force
If you read the attached documents you will see the position would work with the VAC (Visual Arts Commission).
After watching the Bunker Ramp mural debacle, I am even more confident that this position would give the administration the upper hand in making final public art decisions and as a position in the Mayor’s office they would do the bidding of the mayor making the VAC almost obsolete.
While I agree with most of what is being said when it comes to public art coordination I believe it takes an effort from multiple non-profits, artists and other stakeholders. An actual public art commission or committee would make more sense helping guide these organizations.
I’m not sure the council has changed their mind on the position, but with this renewed vigor, even after the failure of the mural, it makes you wonder what kind of deal is being cut with council leadership (Council Chair Soehl was the biggest opponent when first introduced).
I’m sure an argument will be made that the failure of the mural process is a reason we need a person making these decisions.
The mural didn’t fail because of the process, in fact I fully commend the artists, VAC and the SFAC for their due diligence and incredible work they did to bring forth a candidate. It was their first go around at doing this, and they checked all the boxes. The mural ultimately failed because ONE person was offended and that is NO way to institute public art.
Eagerly awaiting Mike’s expert opinion.
“… a shared vision for one artwork could not be reached, so it’s been determined not to pursue a mural,” Jeff Eckhoff, director of planning and development, said in the statement.
JEckhoff must not be comfortable with the position of Paid Liar for the Mayor.
Representing this proposal to the City Council simply means that JEckhoff wants some other city employee to have to lie to the public after the Mayor makes a unilateral decision which is in direct conflict with the result of process which had been laid forth to guide the decision.
Anybody named ‘Art’. Since when has the city hired someone qualified? Isn’t there a city official’s out of work relative? How about a Santos or Huether type?
Whose turn is it to pay at Pizza Ranch?…. (Come to think of it, I wonder if the Dutch Mafia ever goes Dutch?)
Couldn’t we just save some money by having a Chief of Culture & the Arts? #Hari-bourgeoisNord
for that mural wall deal- can the city get a huge junbotron made on it like it is at times square, it would give the panhandlers on the cornersomething to watch between redl-ights, maybe something from karls only dont tune it on keloland plz
Our Dutch Maifia’fication of Sioux Falls will have certain types of architecture allowed, art projects will be thrown out because they mock the sensibilities of the mafia based churches, then the certain types of art granted special placements, with homes built to designs not approved of will be ordered torn down all for the greater glorification.
Oh wait, huh? I guess this is happening now, oh…. never mind, too late.
AotM, that was a good attempt. 😉