The Appleton Public Arts Committee met 06/05/2024 and voted on a request from the Police Department to paint a mural on their parking garage located at 222 S Walnut Street.
The committee voted unanimously to approve the request.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
The mural is being paid for with American Recovery Plan Act dollars. It is a collaboration between the Police Department, the Appleton Area School District, and local mural artist Irineo Medina.
The project is planned for three days in July, tentatively scheduled to start 07/15/2024 depending on the weather. During the first two days, Irineo will supervise AASD high school students as they paint the mural, and then on the third day he will finish it up.
The proposed picture is of two hands reaching toward each other along with the caption “It Takes All Of Us.”
The committee made sure that the students were going to be cared for properly during the project, provided food and drinks, and would not be exposed to any toxic chemicals. City staff told the committee that Mr. Medina has experience working with students. Additionally, AASD personnel were going to be involved in the project. There was a question about how many hours per day would be spent working on the mural, but staff did not have an answer to that question.
The committee voted unanimously to approve the mural.
Prior to adjournment, the committee did receive a brief informational item. Community Development Deputy Director David Kress told the committee that the photo contest to fill the Houdini Plaza Welcome Tower was currently on hold. In January, the committee approved a theme of “Recreation in Appleton”. At the time the expectation had been that they would open the contest around this time with a mid-June deadline for entries. Due to staff turnover and overall workload in the department, the contest has been put off. They plan to revisit it in a few months once their staffing situation was settled.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1196384&GUID=C9776FB4-A49F-4B05-AECC-4E23DC8DB221
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