Public Art Strategic Plan January 2016

Summary of South Park Public Art Strategic Plan In its continued effort to beautify the community, the South Park BID engaged the help of the Do Art Foundation in 2014 to curate district art and develop an inclusive cultural narrative for the neighborhood – one characterized by movement, growth, and diversity. The overall goal of the public art program is to help make South Park a cultural destination, as well as enliven it for the residents, businesses, and visitors. The plan is the culmination of professional observation, surveys and community input surrounding South Park neighborhood, its culture and artistic contributions to public art in Los Angeles. At the conception of the Public Art Strategic Plan, the BID identified potential locations for public art, such as mural and sculpture, and connected with the necessary property owners, while the Do Art Foundation accessed interested artists, who created a piece based on their choice of available locations. The result in the first year of embarking on the Public Art Strategic Plan in 2014-2015 is South Park’s outdoor public gallery, which includes 8 dynamic murals and 11 utility boxes, each capturing the action and evolution of the neighborhood in their own fashion. Many of the murals have been featured by the Google Street Art Project, and praised by community stakeholders and City Departments and Officials. The BID’s role is identifying potential locations for public art, such as mural and sculpture, and connecting with the necessary property owners, while the Do Art Foundation accessed interested artists, who created artwork based on their choice of available locations. The overall goal of the public art program is to integrate elements into the landscape of South Park, and help to make it a cultural destination, as well as enliven it for the residents, businesses, and visitors. The South Park BID continues to proactively engage in public art projects in partnership with the Do Art Foundation to make the community more aesthetically engaging, cleaner, and safer. Objective Pros/Cons Pros: Bringing public art into the district is beneficial for tourism, liveliness, and general aesthetics. The existing murals have already helped bring attention to the neighborhood, and the addition of further pieces will further increase awareness of all that South Park has to offer. The art in the public realm is the property of the Do Art Foundation, which means they will not impede change or development of the buildings on which they reside. 1 South Park business improvement District 1100 South Flower Street #3400, Los Angeles, CA 90015 southpark.la

Cons: In order to be fully approved by the mural ordinance, murals must have a graffiti coating placed on them that many artists feel impacts the integrity of the art. Additionally, this coating is very expensive. As art is subjective, not every constituent approves of every piece of art through this program, which is an element the BID will continue to address. Partners • Do Art Foundation: co-created Public Art Strategic Plan; identifies local artists; fundraises for and secures art supplies and materials; engages with the community by presenting at public meetings or convening meetings to direct the artwork design and implementation • Artists: design and execute art in line with the community’s vision. • Local property owners and developers: provide the blank canvases (walls, construction sites, event venues, etc.), provide feedback on art design, and occasionally fund public art in the district. Murals By working with the Do Art Foundation, the BID has access to potential funding, brilliant artists, and curation of art that reflects the vision and cadence of South Park. The Do Art Foundation was also instrumental in the City of Los Angeles’ new mural ordinance, and the murals in South Park represent some of the first to go through this new city process. The first product of the Public Art Strategic Plan is a mural that depicts swans in flight, which was created in August 2014 over the course of three days. Located on 12th and Flower St., the mural, Preciousness of the Hunt, was painted by South Africa-based artist Faith47 to represent the rebirth of the neighborhood. A second mural by artist duo DevNGosha covers two entire sides of a parking structure on 11th and Hope St. Today, there are 8 large-scale murals and 11 utility boxes decorating the district. In recognition of the 2015 Special Olympic World Games, artists Kent Twitchell and CRYPTIK have installed murals on Hope St. between 10th and 11th and on 1248 S. Figueroa St. Today’s outdoor public art museum attracted the attention of the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles (MCLA) to conduct neighborhood guided art tours. The tours highlight international and local artistic talent in South Park while showcasing its fast-growing neighborhood. Due to feedback from community members and businesses, the BID in partnership with the Do Art Foundation continues to curate large-scale murals throughout the District. 2 South Park business improvement District 1100 South Flower Street #3400, Los Angeles, CA 90015 southpark.la

Utility Box Art Series The utility box art series originated from L.A. City Councilmember José Huizar’s Council District 14 Utility Art Box project, which has so far resulted in transforming more than 100 utility boxes districtwide into creative canvases. With the Councilmember’s support, the South Park BID and Do Art organized one artist to paint a unique element of the neighborhood on select utility boxes. In order to engage the community in the utility box artist selection process, South Park convened several meetings with district stakeholders to establish direction, and invited the community to participate in a public contest. The contest drew in nearly 70 submissions from regional artists and the community voted amongst the 10 finalists. A local artist specializing in intriguing microstructural photographs called “micrograms” was selected as the winner. Neva created 11 original designs for utility boxes, which were then printed, installed, and coated with graffiti coating. The utility boxes span several city blocks in the South Park neighborhood. They can be found scattered throughout Figueroa St., Flower St., Hope St., and Grand Ave. A recent public art survey confirmed that the utility boxes have been very well received by the community. Construction Fence Art Project Feedback from a public art community survey led South Park and the Foundation to a creative construction-zone revitalization project. With the beautify a construction zone and prevent graffiti-tagging, the BID and the Foundation engaged neighborhood developers, and partnering with local photographers, and community organizations to create non-commercial wrappings or designs for construction fences.

Do Art goal to Do Art artists, artistic

The construction fence artwork, curated by local and renowned artist, Shrine On (Brent Spears), will test new, innovative graffiti-proof ideas. The project makes its debut in January 2016 at the corner of Hope St. and Pico Blvd. The Do Art Foundation began the construction fence project by working with one of Downtown LA’s leading elementary schools, Metro Charter Elementary School, to paint 25 pieces of plywood for a new construction fence art project in South Park. Volunteers then gathered, cleaned, and repurposed over 300 pounds of recycled materials, while Shrine On painted his signature pattern-heavy art pieces and tied the pieces together.

3 South Park business improvement District 1100 South Flower Street #3400, Los Angeles, CA 90015 southpark.la

Safety was of utmost importance during the construction fence art project. The Do Art Foundation worked closely with the construction team and developer to ensure that safety regulations were adhered to when coming in contact with the construction site. The project is built to last and to be portable to other construction sites once the Jade Enterprises development reaches completion. The success of this project to deter graffiti and to engage and beautify the community will help to enlist other construction companies to follow suit. Public Art Classes After receiving resounding feedback from a community public art survey for interest in art projects that engage the neighborhood, the BID and the Do Art Foundation to organize a series of free public art classes hosted in neighborhood park, Venice Hope Park. Local artists arrived in South Park with materials donated from Dick Blick on Beverly Blvd to lead outdoor free classes for 10-20 community members. The series successfully realized the project goals: to bring together a community of new and long-standing residents, activate the park, encourage creative expression, and foster more community creativity. With three rewarding classes in 2015, the BID plans to continue to host art classes on a monthly basis in 2016. Public Art Talks To create more diversified programming, interaction with artists, and a narrative of discussion around art, the South Park BID in partnership with Do Art Foundation hosted a series of art talks with different artists/collectives in the District. The Art Talks help to make South Park a landing point for both international and locally renowned artists and help to bring more discussion about art into the District. South Park kicked-off the Art Talks series at the Hotel Figueroa and curated monthly Art Talks with visiting and local artists. The talks are an hour to an hour and a half long, take place in the evenings, and are free and open to the public. Any Do Art artist working in Los Angeles on a project is automatically eligible for the South Park residency program and will be introduced to the South Park community through the South Park Art Talk event series. With three successful classes in 2015, the BID plans to continue to host art classes on a monthly basis in 2016.

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Current Status As of December 2015, eight large-scale murals and 11 artist utility boxes decorate South Park with a construction fence art piece in-the-works, in addition to the implementation of the interactive Art Talk and Art Class series. Moving Forward The BID and the Do Art Foundation continue to look for ways to bring public art to the next level in the neighborhood, such as including: technology, interactive pieces of art, sculptures, making artistic use of construction fences and electronic billboards, are some of the many ways that the BID and the Do Art Foundation hope to expand their base through the Public Art Strategic Plan.

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Murals

Artist: CASE Completed: May 2015 Location: Olympic Blvd. & Flower St. Learn more at: maclaim.blogspot.com

Artist: Christina Angelina Completed: February 2015 Location: Pico Blvd. & Hope St. Learn more at: christinaangelina.com

Artist: CRYPTIK Completed: July 2015 Location: Pico between Figueroa & Flower St. Learn more at: cryptik.com

Artist: devNgosha Completed: December 2014 Location: 11th St. & Hope St. Learn more at: devngosha.com

Artist: DOURONE Completed: February 2015 Location: 12th St & Hope St. Learn more at: dourone.com

Artist: Kent Twitchell Title: Special Olympics Monument Completed: July 2015 6 Location: Hope St. between 11th & 12th Learn more at: kenttwitchell.org South Park business improvement District 1100 South Flower Street #3400, Los Angeles, CA 90015 southpark.la

Artist: Faith47 Title: Preciousness of the Hunt Completed: August 2014 Location: 12th St. & Flower St. Learn more at: faith47.com

Artist: Aly Timbuctustate Title: Untitled Completed: September 2015 Location: Hope St. between 11th & 12th Learn more at: timbuctustate.com

Artist: Drew Merritt Title: The Runner Completed: February 2016 Location: Pico & Grand Learn more at: drewmerritt.com

Artist: Fortoul Brothers (40owls) Title: Bring the Rain Completed: February 2016 Location: 212 W. 12th St. Learn more at: 40owls.com

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Utility Box Art Series

Basketball: Figueroa St. & 12th St.

Feather: Hope St. & Pico Blvd.

Margarita Salt: Flower St. & Pico Blvd. 8 South Park business improvement District 1100 South Flower Street #3400, Los Angeles, CA 90015 southpark.la

Construction Fence Art

9 South Park business improvement District 1100 South Flower Street #3400, Los Angeles, CA 90015 southpark.la

Public Art Classes

10 South Park business improvement District 1100 South Flower Street #3400, Los Angeles, CA 90015 southpark.la