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Home My WebLink AboutAgenda Item - 2025-10-07 - Number 10.1 - RtR and ACLO Project at LOPL 10.1 E 0 COUNCIL REPORT V —w 0 GREGo Subject: Respond to Racism and Arts Council of Lake Oswego public art project at the Lake Oswego Public Library Meeting Date: October 7, 2025 Staff Members: Megan Phelan, Assistant City Manager; Melissa Kelly, Library Director Report Date: September 26, 2025 Departments: City Manager's Office; Library Action Required Advisory Board/Commission Recommendation ❑X Motion ❑ Approval ❑ Public Hearing ❑ Denial ❑ Ordinance ❑ None Forwarded ❑ Resolution ❑X Not Applicable ❑ Information Only Comments: ❑ Council Direction ❑ Consent Agenda Staff Recommendation: Approve the selection of Sahara Aylanna Defrees to be the artist for phase one of the Respond to Racism and Arts Council of Lake Oswego public art project at the Lake Oswego Public Library Recommended Language for Motion: Move to approve the selection of Sahara Aylanna Defrees to be the artist for phase one of the Respond to Racism and Arts Council of Lake Oswego public art project at the Lake Oswego Public Library Project/ Issue Relates To: General fund grant to Respond to Racism for community art project Issue before Council (Highlight Policy Question): ❑Council Goals/Priorities ❑Adopted Master Plan(s) ❑S Not Applicable EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In January, 2025, Council awarded a General Fund grant of$37,000 to phase one of a community art project proposed by Respond to Racism, to be located at the Lake Oswego Respect cv el'erce. Trust. Se-iv 503-635-0215 380 A AVENUE PO BOX 369 LAKE OSWEGO, OR 97034 WWW.LAKEOSWEGO.CITY Page 2 Public Library. Respond to Racism has collaborated with the City and the Arts Council of Lake Oswego to issue a Request for Proposals to artists, and to design a selection process, consistent with the City's Public Art Guidelines. In addition, Respond to Racism submitted a grant application for the Neighborhood Education Grant Program requesting $5,000 for this art project, and their grant request was approved by the Historic Resources Advisory Board in June, 2025. BACKGROUND Art Project Vision The vision for this public art project first came to the City's attention in 2020. As summarized in the Respond to Racism (RtR) grant application for project funding, the project vision includes the following aspirations: • "to not only acknowledge the painful history of exclusion and racism in our town, but to inspire a vision of a hopeful, united, and vibrant community that celebrates its diversity and becomes a model of inclusion where people of all backgrounds, races and ethnicities can thrive" • "to underscore our ability to transcend our past and reach for our destiny as one people - diverse but united ... by educating about the past and inspiring hope for the future" • "to facilitate a sense of introspection, knowledge, and hope with art that engages, educates, and inspires people of all ages—particularly youth and families" Art Project Scope RtR has envisioned this public art project as three phases of art installations near the Lake Oswego Public Library (LOPL). The current grant award scope is for phase one only and it includes: • Sidewalk stamps (ex. etchings, engravings, embedded artwork, etc.) with words along 4th Street between D and E Avenues • Interpretive panel(s) that communicate historically relevant and accurate information regarding the history of racism in Lake Oswego, the City's aspiration to be free of racism, and center residents of color (past and/or present) The current scope also includes a focus on ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessibility, as well as consideration of sensory elements such as light and sound to further enhance accessibility. Project Transition from ARPA Grant to General Fund Grant For a variety of reasons, RtR was unable to place an artist under contract for this project by the end of 2024, which was the deadline by which the ARPA grant rules required local governments obligate all ARPA funds. On January 7, 2025, the City Council agreed with staff's recommendation to covert the ARPA Grant to a General Fund Grant using fund balance from Respect. Excellence. Trust. Service 503-635-0215 380 A AVENUE PO BOX 369 LAKE OSWEGO, OR 97034 WWW.LAKEOSWEGO.CITY Page 3 the Library and City Manager's Office budgets to fund the remaining components of the project. Neighborhood Education Grant Program Award RtR submitted a grant application for the Neighborhood Education Grant Program requesting $5,000 for this art project, and their grant request was approved by the Historic Resources Advisory Board in June, 2025. The $5,000 award is the maximum award amount based on available grant funding, and the funds need to be spent and the work needs to be completed prior to June 1, 2026. Timeline History For background, the timeline progression for this project to-date is summarized below. • 2020— RtR leaders held meetings with City leaders about the vision for the public art project • 2021— LOPL was identified as the host site; early visioning and planning meetings were held including RtR, ACLO, and Library and Engineering staff of the City • 2022— RtR applied for ARPA grant funds through the City for the public art project and received Council approval • 2023— Planning meetings continued • 2024— RtR received a date extension for disbursement of grant funds, hired a project manager, and prepared a Request for Proposals (RFP) for artist selection; however, for a variety of reasons RtR was not able to actually place an artist under contract before the end of 2024 • January 2025 —Council reallocated the ARPA funds to another project and awarded a General Fund grant to the RtR art project • February-June 2025 — RtR worked closely with the City and ACLO to ensure the process was consistent with the City's Public Art Guidelines • July—September, 2025— Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued, proposals were received, and the selection process was followed to narrow to one finalist DISCUSSION The Arts Council of Lake Oswego (ACLO) administered the selection of the artwork under the Public Art Guidelines approved by City Council in 2024. Their report is included as Attachment A. As you will see in the ACLO report, Sahara Aylanna Defrees has been identified as the finalist for this project. In the report is a link to artists proposal which is artwork consisting of four interpretive panels and a series of sidewalk stamps along the partial frontage of the Library, spanning from near the intersection of Fourth Street and D Avenue to the brick entryway to the Library. Respect. c . �!e Trust. q- , 503-635-0215 380 A AVENUE PO BOX 369 LAKE OSWEGO, OR 97034 WWW.LAKEOSWEGO.CITY Page 4 It is important to note that a proposal is a not a finished product of the art, but rather a concept based on how the artist interprets and responds to the parameters outlined in the RFP. In that spirit, City Council may consider asking RtR and ACLO the following questions: • Please describe the artist's vision for the interpretive panels and the sidewalk stamps. • How will RtR, the ACLO, and the artist ensure that this artwork aligns with the mission of the Library, and that it is welcoming to all people? • What will be the inspiration for the quotes used for the sidewalk stamps? • How will potential location site constraints, like the number of interpretive panels, their size, and conflicts with landscaping and/or existing artwork on the site, be addressed? • Will there be words on the interpretive panels, and if so, what will they say? RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that City Council approve the selection of Sahara Aylanna Defrees to be the artist for phase one of the RtR and ACLO public art project at the LOPL. ATTACHMENTS 1. ACLO Report Respect. Excellence. Trust. Service 503-635-0215 380 A AVENUE PO BOX 369 LAKE OSWEGO, OR 97034 WWW.LAKEOSWEGO.CITY ATTACHMENT 1 A 380 A Ave. Suite A Lake Oswego, OR 97034 503-272-1214 artscouncillo.org Respond to Racism (RtR) public art project at Lake Oswego Public Library (LOPL), ARTS COUNCIL facilitated by Arts Council of Lake Oswego (ACLO) OF LAKE OSWEGO Timeline: MAY 2025 • 5/23 MOU between City, RtR, and ACLO signed laying out roles and responsibilities of each entity (ALL) • 5/30 RFP finalized between RtR, ACLO, LO Library (ALL) o RFP included link to Public Art Guidelines criteria for pieces to enter the City's collection o RFP Scoring Guide for Public Art Installation Project included each of the required criteria listed in the Public Art Guidelines • 5/30 Call for applicants to Selection Committee Panelists finalized (ALL) June 2025 • 6/2-6/20 Call for Panelists (ALL) • 6/26/25, 4-5pm Panelist orientation-1 hr virtual meeting, approximately 30 min presentation on the project goals and review process, plus up to 30 min Q&A (ALL) o Project goals and Review process o Public art guidelines and overall criteria (Section 5.1.2), RFP Scoring Guide, o RtR mission o ACLO presented on: • Public art guidelines • RFP Scoring Guide • LO Perm Art Collection Strengths: regional artists, 2D landscape art, 2D lifestyle artwork, 3D static sculptures + LO Permanent Art Collection Weaknesses: interactive art, artwork by BIPOC artists, kinetic work, photographic work, site-specific artwork July &August 2025 • 7/15- 8/31 RFP open to applicants September 2025 • 9/1-9/7 Eligible applications move forward, Panelists receive materials (RtR) • 9/7 Panel finishes preliminary review and scoring, narrows 9 to 6 semifinalists (RtR). • 9/11 Facilitated deliberation meeting held with Panelists to identify 3 finalists (RtR). Three finalists were determined through two rounds of panelist review and deliberation, narrowed from an initial pool of 9, then down to 6 semi finalists, and down to 3 clear top finalists signed off on by our 9 community panelists. 380 A Ave. Suite A Lake Oswego, OR 97034 II 503-272-1214 artscouncillo.org • 9/12 Three finalists ranked in order relayed to ACLO and LOPL to be reviewed for ARTS COUNCIL eligibility by the Public Art Committee (RtR to PAC) OF LAKE OSWEGO • 9/15 Facilitated PAC meeting to review three finalists for eligibility and adherence to Public Art Guidelines criteria (Section 5.1.2). Narrowed from 3 to 2 finalists by PAC. (ALL) • 9/16-21 RtR Board receives 2 finalists to be reviewed and scored (RtR) • 9/23 Facilitated final deliberation meeting held to recommend top applicants to City Council (RtR) • 9/24 Final recommendation of Sahara Aylanna Defrees OCTOBER 2025 • 10/7 City Council meeting to consider final recommendation of Sahara Aylanna Defrees UPCOMING • Scheduled contract meeting with Ellen/City Attorney on 10/10 • Selected artist(s) notified by 10/8 or sooner, contract executed by 10/31 • All applicants notified by 10/22 • Fund distributed to artist by 11/26 References • RFP • Rubric • PAC meeting & review of Respond submissions • d Sahara Aylanna Defrees application packet