REPORT TO ARTS COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Approve 2 Design Proposals for The Great Box Cover-up! (Utility Box Art Project-Phase 3)
Report
BACKGROUND
On November 10, 2020, the City Council approved $50,000 from the Public Art Fund to implement a utility box art project (Attachment 1 - RTC No. 20-0944). The project stemmed from the public outreach process conducted for the Master Plan for Public Art. The community, Arts Commission, and City Council expressed an interest in implementing a temporary, community-based art project, in particular a utility box art project.
Phase 1, completed in Spring 2022, included 12 signal boxes located within the downtown area. Phase 2, completed in Spring 2023, included 16 signal boxes located throughout Sunnyvale (Attachment 2).
Phase 3 of the Great Box Cover-up! is currently underway and includes 11 signal boxes reserved for students from the four high schools that serve Sunnyvale residents.
This report includes information on the design proposals for two of the four schools (Kings Academy and Wilcox High School). The remaining two schools (Homestead High School and Fremont High School) will participate during the 2024-2025 school year.
On May 16, 2023, City Council authorized the Arts Commission to approve Phase 3 of The Great Box Cover-up! including conceptual designs (Attachment 3 - RTC No. 23-0581). Therefore, City Council is not scheduled to review the design proposals for Phase 3.
EXISTING POLICY
Sunnyvale Municipal Code 19.52 - Art in Private Development
Sunnyvale Council Policy 6.4.4 - Art in Public Places
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Painting existing utility boxes does not require environmental review because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity may have a significant effect on the environment (California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3)), and it is not a project or a reasonably foreseeable indirect change to the environment (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(a).
DISCUSSION
Project Description
The Great Box Cover-up! was designed to bring local artists and their artwork to the community, as well as convert gray, non-descript, city-owned traffic signal boxes into attractive and engaging artworks. The project was rolled out in multiple phases. The first phase included 12 signal boxes in the downtown area and the second phase included 16 boxes located throughout the city. The third phase is currently underway with 11 boxes reserved for the four high schools that serve Sunnyvale families.
Utility Box Locations
The utility boxes in Phase 3 are signal boxes near the high schools. Staff provided each school with 2-3 locations closest to their respective campuses:
Kings Academy
• Fair Oaks Avenue @ Wolfe Road
• Duane Avenue @ Wolfe Road
• Arques Avenue @ Wolfe Road
Wilcox High School
• Wolfe Road @ Reed Avenue
• Old San Francisco Road @ Gail Avenue
Fremont High School (future)
• Fremont Avenue @ Mary Avenue
• Fremont Avenue @ Hollenbeck Avenue
• Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road @ Fremont Avenue
Homestead High School (future)
• Homestead Road @ Hollenbeck Avenue
• Homestead Road @ Kennewick Drive
• Hollenbeck Avenue @ Alberta Avenue
Each location has one to three boxes. The schools and their artists are required to paint the largest city-owned boxes, with the option of including additional (on-site) boxes as an extension of their approved design. The project commission is $1,000 per location, regardless of the number of boxes painted. This stipend is intended to help offset the materials needed to complete the project.
Selection Process
The previous two phases of the utility box project selected the artists through a Call for Artists/RFQ (Request for Qualifications) process. Applications were accepted and artists were selected through a juried process. Phase 3 is being conducted by invitation. Each school will determine their own process for selecting or jurying the designs. Staff require a point person at the school (ideally an art teacher). Arts Commission approval is required prior to painting. More details on each school’s process will be included in the Design Proposals section of this report.
Execution of Approved Designs
Following Arts Commission approval, staff will work with the schools and their artists to finalize the designs. Any major concept changes will be brought back to the Arts Commission for approval. The artists are expected to paint their designs between April and August 2024.
Each utility box must remain operable, and the school and its artists are required to use City approved paints, primers and finishes to ensure the art is durable and long-lasting. It is the City’s expectation that the art will remain in place for a minimum of five years, or until such time it is deemed necessary to paint over for any reason. The utility box art condition will be evaluated as part of the City’s annual collection review. After five years, staff will conduct an assessment to determine whether the temporary Utility Box Art Project should remain or be removed.
Pursuant to the Master Plan for Public Art, the utility box art project is considered “temporary art” and will not be accessioned into the City’s Permanent Art Collection. Each school’s contract includes language specifying that the art can be removed at the sole discretion of the City.
Design Proposals
Kings Academy (562 N. Britton Ave., Sunnyvale) has been assigned three, city-owned signal boxes located near the school (Attachment 5). To select the design concepts, the school created a contest and invited the entire student body to participate. The contest was advertised through classes/clubs and interest in the project was high. Students were allowed to submit as many designs as they like and wrote brief descriptions about the vision behind their designs. A panel of school administrators selected the final three designs from the 15 submitted.
Proposal #1 - Designed by Lilah Cubacub
This design has a theme of harmony and beauty of nature. It features several iconic California species, such as the endangered Chinook Salmon and the Monarch Butterflies, and the extinct Grizzly Bear. The artist hopes to raise awareness about these endangered species and urge people to take care of our ecosystems.
Proposal #2 - Designed by Anika Huang
This design includes stylized depictions of Sunnyvale birds, many of which are found at the Sunnyvale Baylands. The names of each species will be written next to the bird’s image. The artist hopes the design will encourage residents to get out and reconnect with their neighborhoods and parks, and the wildlife indigenous to our area.
Proposal #3 - Designed by Anjie Xu
This design is a fanciful depiction of knights in armor with swirling clouds and majestic horses. It relates back to the school’s mascot, and the student’s mission to achieve greatness and live a full spiritual life.
Wilcox High School (3250 Monroe Street, Santa Clara) has been assigned two city-owned signal box locations. Although Wilcox High School is located in Santa Clara, it serves families/students living toward the northeast and southeast of Sunnyvale.
To select the designs a school-wide competition was held and 27 designs were submitted. The designs were voted on by the students and the top two most popular were selected. The designs will be painted by the artists, in collaboration with the National Art Honor Society chapter members.
Proposal #4 - Designed by Michelle Wu
This deign consists of postage stamps and pieces of mail with imagery that represents Sunnyvale, including fruits (cherries, apples, oranges, lemons), birds and suns. Additionally, children, books and the Wilcox National Art Honor Society logo were included to demonstrate the school’s connection to the neighborhood and education.
Proposal #5 - Designed by Alexandra Sasha Sokolova
This design consists of bold, colorful Koi fish swimming in a pond. The artist sees the qualities of a tranquil koi pond as representative of perseverance, accomplishment, love and friendship. She hopes her design will inspire the residents of Sunnyvale to seek out these qualities and live life to the fullest.
Next Steps
The conceptual designs approved by the Arts Commission will be finalized, with staff oversight, to meet the Art in Public Places guidelines. Any design proposals not approved by the Arts Commission will be further developed and brought back to the Arts Commission for a second review and approval.
Similarly, if the school and its artists decide to paint additional smaller boxes at their designated location, they will need staff authorization to ensure the box is owned by the City and must stay within the approved conceptual design or return for review and approval by the Arts Commission.
FISCAL IMPACT
The project budget for all phases of the Utility Box Art Project is $50,000. The funds will be expended from the Public Art Fund, with approximately $11,000 in Phase 3 for artist fees and material costs. A total of $29,500 was expended for Phase 1 and 2 of the project.
The boxes are considered temporary artworks and therefore are not scheduled for ongoing maintenance. Should a minor repair be deemed necessary, that cost can be covered out of the Art in Public Places operating budget. If the repair is not considered minor, the City has retained the right to repaint the box to its original gray state.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Arts Commission agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Public Library, Senior Center, Community Center, and in the Department of Public Safety Lobby. In addition, the agenda and report are available at the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Approve 5 Design Proposals for The Great Box Cover-Up! (Utility Box Art Project-Phase 3)
2. Approve less than 5 Design Proposals for The Great Box Cover-Up! (Utility Box Art Project-Phase 3)
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
There is no staff recommendation for this project.
Staff
Prepared by: Kristin Dance, Recreation Services Coordinator II
Reviewed by: Trenton Hill, Recreation Services Manager
Reviewed by: Damon Sparacino, Superintendent of Recreation Services
Reviewed by: Michelle Perera, Director of Library and Recreation Services
ATTACHMENTS
1. RTC No. 20-0944 (without attachments)
2. The Great Box Cover-Up! Map
3. RTC No. 23-0581 (without attachments)
4. Conceptual Designs - Kings Academy
5. Conceptual Designs - Wilcox High School