Exhibit 2 HdG Public Art Plan.pdf

Main Street Havre de Grace Prepared by Cochran Studio • January 2014

Havre de Grace Public Art Plan

Havre de Grace Public Art Plan Prepared by Cochran Studio for Main Street Havre de Grace • January 2014

Appendices

Strategically placed public artwork can draw out the sculptural qualities of the bridges of Havre de Grace.

Section 1: Executive Summary A. Overview

• Havre de Grace has an extraordinary opportunity to integrate the creative vision, experience and skill of seasoned artists of high caliber as allies in the ongoing struggle to refine and improve the character of its public places and downtown.

• Public art of outstanding quality can buttress efforts to improve comprehensive design standards and expectations as Havre de Grace transforms itself into a more beautiful and sustainable cultural and heritage destination in the coming years.

This Document:

— briefly describes the history of public art and the state of the field in America today.

— outlines potential opportunities in Havre de Grace.

— offers a series of conceptual frameworks for organizing public art in this city

— provides a basic toolkit of components for a professional public art program

— includes case studies that summarize how cities of similar sizes have set up public art programs.

Havre de Grace has identified public art as an important tool for economic and cultural development, one that can simultaneously strengthen the fabric and identity of the community and raise its profile throughout the region and beyond.

• The goal of this effort is to develop and implement a comprehensive public art program rooted in the heritage, architectural and natural beauty of this city and environs, and in its strong sense of place.

• Professionalizing and formalizing the public art process are essential steps to attract the support, funding, sites and artists needed to achieve the full potential of public art for this city.

• The best chance for the success and stability of any public art program is to build upon established policies and standards that follow national best practices and are grounded in the body of knowledge accumulated in the field over the last four decades.

Small sculpture park behind the Vontz Cente for Molecular Studies at the University of Cincinnati integrates landforms and sculpture in a compact space. Foreground: Belief by Terry Allen.

• Begin today, start where you are. Intercede in current keystone community projects while there is still time to include well-planned works of public art or artist-driven design elements. The library is an especially important and urgent opportunity but also current parks and public spaces of all kinds.

• Use the Public Art Advisory Committee (PAAC) as a resource to help develop the city’s public art role and a framework for integrating public art and enhancing all aspects of the aesthetics of Havre de Grace, including aesthetic standards and review for commercially-zoned improvements.

• While developing a more formal design review mechanism, include a step in the procurement process for public space design for the PAAC to “review, comment and advise.”

• Professionalize and formalize public art in Havre de Grace by understanding, advocating for and committing to national best practices (artist selection, contracting, intellectual property, durability, maintenance, documentation, deaccession).

• Engage the public in public art program planning.

• Strengthen urban planning so aesthetics and strong planning drive the development of the built environment in a coordinated way. Hire a planner, seasoned public artist or public art consultant to bring expertise on a project-by-project or permanent basis.

• Consider setting the expectation that seasoned public artists will be part of the design teams for all new public space design on a routine basis.

• Transition the City of Havre de Grace planning department from permitting to a more comprehensive and proactive urban planning role.

Include personnel who understand and appreciate the value of an effective public art program.

• Pursue a Percent for the Arts Program in order to generate a funding stream for new public art and aesthetic enhancements of all public projects.

Alternatively, determine other long-term, stable program funding.

• Engage artists to help reimagine public space renovation, to integrate public art wherever appropriate and to help leverage construction dollars by suggesting/designing ways for common building materials to create a more aesthetic public space.

Start immediately with the new Library, new park behind Citizen’s Care and Rehabilitation Center, and the proposed park along Water Street.

• Until there is funding and momentum for larger endeavors, use the means at hand to build excitement, ownership and interest: turn empty store fronts into pop-up art exhibitions or event-based art activities, start planning a temporary city-wide summer installation through the Main Street area of colorful, contemporary, suspended sculpture based on local hand-tied fishing lures or throw a major sidewalk chalk mural festival.

• Determine if a thematic framework would be helpful to organize public art endeavors.

• Encourage the PAAC to develop a set of 10-year goals, to be revisited every 5 years. A 1- to 2-year action plan should be updated each year, taking into consideration the context of any thematic framework as well as foreseeable opportunities, such as new construction and routine renovation of public space.

• Actively encourage partnerships among multiple organizations and nonprofits to commission public art, but use the PAAC in an “advise, review, and approve” capacity to ensure that the commissions fall under a cohesive public art strategy, include appropriate process and strive for high artistic quality.

• As public art and design become a prominent part of the Havre de Grace story, celebrate them in your promotions through tourism, economic development, public relations and marketing.

See more detailed recommendations on pages 34-37.

B. Recommendations

Art has shaped the cultural identity of societies throughout human history. From the time we lived in caves through the societies of antiquity, from the hierarchical, caste-organized societies of the last millennium to the revolutionary social changes of the last half-century, artistic expression has played a powerful role around the globe.

Beautiful Propaganda Into the late 20th century, art funded by institutions reflected the agendas of the funders, expressing religious and nationalist symbolism in lockstep with the reining power structures. From religious art in the Renaissance to the idealized generals on horseback scattered throughout our urban parks, art in public places generally reinforced orthodox understandings of the world. However skillful and aesthetically refined, this was often beautiful propaganda.

Seeing With New Eyes Art began a historic shift following the mechanized horrors of the first World War, accelerating during the mainstreaming of modernism and its skepticism about decorative forms and traditional understandings. Its trajectory was fueled by advances in civil rights and feminism and characterized by profound challenges to “official” and paternalistic versions of reality. In general, there was a broad shift away from monolithic viewpoints and hierarchical systems and toward a deeper tolerance for multiple perspectives and inquiry.

As artists sharply confronted reigning orthodoxies, art exploded in hundreds of different directions.

Minimalism questioned the role of “artist, and “anti-monumental” forms undermined the very notion of art.

Environmental artists sought the natural world with new eyes. Some artists expanded their own roles by deliberately engaging everyday people as “co-creators.”

A New Public Art Public art carried these innovations into the public realm, bringing energy, vitality and sometimes

A. Brief History of Public Art

“Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts, the book of their deeds, the book of their words and the book of their art. Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others, but of the three the only trustworthy one is the last.”

— John Ruskin

Section 2: Public Art History & Rationale controversy into public spaces of all kinds. Public art ethics and standards quickly evolved, beginning with the concept of “site-specific art,” or art that respects and is rooted in its context, in contrast to what was pejoratively termed “plop art,” art that is “plopped” into a site without consideration of its history or meaning, and sometimes without any consideration for its everyday users. Plop art’s condescension is the implication that art can uplift and transform benighted surroundings by radiating excellence.

Over time, more organized public art programs arose that were curated and competitive, that placed a premium on artistic quality, site-specificity and community engagement, and that enlisted the public as collaborators. Communities began to explore a site’s histories, needs, and multiple meanings to assist artists in conceptualizing public artwork. Communal landmarks grew from ordinary public spaces made extraordinary by the imaginations of artists of all kinds.

Engaging the Public A small army of public artists has developed in recent decades with considerable urban experience and a keen interest in engaging the public and the public realm in their work, yet without relinquishing their artistic commitment to question, challenge and innovate. They are comfortable with contested spaces and complex and layered histories. These artists have learned from urban planners and city leaders that the vitality of a community is directly linked to the quality of its built and natural environments and a positive, inclusive and highly diverse community identity.

Culture-Based Revitalization Today, public art is widely recognized by urban leaders as an essential and cost-effective strategy for reviving a downtown and building community. It is a foundational component in the emerging field of culture-based revitalization. Public art administrators see themselves as helping to foster a community’s sense of spirit and pride while building the long-term visual character of the community, helping to develop great public spaces that make powerful and long-term contributions to community life, and facilitating processes of public engagement that strengthen social ties and open new experiences of discovery and exploration.

What Does Public Art Look Like Today?

Public art has evolved far beyond traditional forms like figurative sculpture, murals and mosaics. It takes a dizzying array of forms in cities nationwide, including freestanding, suspended, kinetic or light sculpture at every scale, environmental art including earthworks, intimate trails of marks or embedments in sidewalks or pathways, art disguised as street signs, artist-designed light poles and water features, performance art, temporary installations of many kinds, and perhaps most importantly, artist designed plazas, paseos, streets, landscapes, paving, planting patterns, waterfronts, street furniture, and even bridges.

New Logistics Nationwide, two-thirds of public art programs are housed within government entities, while one third are 501c3 nonprofit organizations or result from public private partnerships, according to a 2007 survey by the Public Art Network of Americans for the Arts. Nearly 70% serve populations smaller than 1 million. Half of programs nationwide receive their funding from percent for arts ordinances. Of these, 60% of programs use 1% of a project budget, while 45% use from 1 to 2%. One third of programs nationwide follow a master plan. It is rare to find a city that is not busily exploiting the power of public art in service to its communities.

Equestrain statues dominated many cities until fairly recently.

Every city competes with others to become magnets for visitors and businesses. There is no longer any question whether a city will reap benefits from a professional-level public art program. The only questions are how and when a public art program should be developed, and how to determine its strategic focus. This document explores these complex questions and examines options for Havre de Grace’s public art initiative.

Recommended by U.S. Conference of Mayors A resolution passed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors urges mayors across the country to invest in the arts as a catalyst to generate economic impact, stimulate business development, spur urban renewal, attract tourists and area residents to community activities and heritage sites, and to improve the overall quality of life in American cities. Today hundreds of U.S. cities have formal public art programs. Three hundred cities and regions have percent-for-arts statutes on the books.

Return on Investment Governments that support the arts see a return on investment, on average, of more than $7 in taxes for every $1 that the government spends.

Create a Cultural Gathering Place Successful public art can help transform Havre de Grace into a cultural center that radiates energy and excitement, sharpening the city’s competitive edge as a magnet for visitors and businesses. Public art conspicuously brands a city as a cultural destination, helping to catalyze the growth and health of the cultural sector.

Attract More Visitors & Support Tourism Cultural tourists spend more money in the cities they visit. Havre de Grace has taken full advantage of it historic sites, and adding another cultural tourism component will diversify its appeal to a wider range of cultural travelers, encouraging longer stays and repeat visits, especially if the public art program includes elements that change over time.

B. Rationales for Public Art in Havre de Grace

Deborah Butterfield transforms the equestrain theme.

Invite New Business Ventures Public art is a cost-effective strategy to make Havre de Grace an increasingly desirable place for businesses to relocate, and it helps them recruit and retain the highly trained, knowledge-based workers on which the creative economy depends.

Successful public art is a sign of maturity in city planning and signals that innovation is alive and well locally. American employers rate creativity/ innovation among the top five skills that will increase in importance in coming years, and rank it among the top challenges facing CEOs.

Increase Economic Development Successful public art has a direct impact on the economic life of the community by enhancing the physical environment and increasing property values.

It brings many indirect benefits such as encouraging a broad sense of ownership, connection and engagement among citizens and burnishing the city’s profile in the media.

Support Broader Community Engagement Public art is utterly unique in its reach, providing access to high quality cultural experiences for peoples of all races, creeds, and income levels, 24/7/365. It engages people on the street, in the midst of their busy lives, as a ready gateway into broader cultural engagement. An easily overlooked benefit of public art is its positive contributions to the social well being of the community. Public art can strengthen a sense of common identity, belonging and social inclusion and encourage deeper participation in other aspects of community life and in the arts. Studies show that cultural vitality and revitalization are strongly linked.

Engage Students and Life-Long Learners Public art can often include curricular connections for students as well as interpretive information for the general public. It can play a critical role in reversing the “brain drain” of youth moving to larger, hipper cities in search of greener, more interesting cultural pastures.

Strengthen Social Fabric The community’s engagement in artistic activities can measurably strengthen the social fabric. The Social Impact of the Arts Project at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice (see Appendix H) has produced considerable evidence that resident participation in artistic activities produces concrete improvements in their quality of life, including falling rates of poverty and truancy, higher levels of satisfaction with life, higher rates of engagement in other aspects of community life, and many other indicators. Interestingly, these improvements were seen even in households not engaged in the arts, as long as they are located in neighborhoods where artistic engagement is above average levels.

Oscillating Field, Dan Corson

• Interviews During Summer 2013, Cochran Studio interviewed a variety of Havre de Grace residents and leaders, including the PAAC to determine the range of views about how a public art program can best serve the community, its aspirations and vision for the future.

Interviews were confidential.

• Site visits & research In addition to researching Havre de Grace history and reviewing numerous reports about aspects of modern Havre de Grace, Cochran Studio toured Havre de Grace between three visits (December 14, 2011, July 2, 2013, and October 14-15, 2013), visiting heritage sites, parks, the waterfront, public spaces and city streets.

• PAAC consultation The Public Art Advisory Committee was organized as part of this process. The PAAC met for 2 work sessions (July 2, 2013 and December 13, 2013), two conference calls (December 4, 2013 and December 11, 2013), and its members were consulted individually throughout the process.

• Public Art Plan Creation of this document to formalize recommendations and options.

Expected Future Phases

• First Projects (see page 35)

• Preliminary set up of long-term public art program. This phase will include the PAAC’s:

— Review of the final version of this document

— Interface with Government and appropriate Organizations

— Agreement on program type and focus

— Adoption of program regulations by appropriate bodies

• Public participation phase in 2014 on art type and site prioritization: Depending on future grant funding, Main Street is planning to enhance this plan with information gathered in a public participation process in Spring/Summer 2014.

During that process, the public at large would be involved in determining appropriate prioritization of art sites, desired public art types for specific sites, and perhaps even prioritization of funds.

• Using priorities determined from public participation and PAAC members, and considering current opportunities, determine an initial 1- or 2-year plan of objectives and projects.

See pages 34 to 38 for more detail.

Section 3: Public Art Plan Creation Process

A. Planning Process to Date

Havre de Grace presents to the visitor as an arts town in the making, with a few signs of experimentation in public art, including visual elements such as murals, and with a healthy series of recurring festivals and events.

Some important factors are clear almost immediately:

Enormous effort has been invested into this city across many fronts. Much has been done well and effectively.

The various organizations and government entities do not shy away from big-picture thinking. All of these are enormous assets. And while, at present, there is minimal hard knowledge of contemporary public art practice, there is clearly considerable enthusiasm for developing a proper process and enhanced aesthetics throughout the city.

Some participants are eager for a powerful public art program that resets expectations across the board. They hope public art can provide a major jolt and a powerful catalyst for fresh thinking, volunteer enthusiasm, higher design standards and expectations, revitalization, energy and excitement. Others feel Havre de Grace is a conservative town where any contemporary public art program must be introduced gradually, with due deference to heritage themes and tradition. There are sentiments for supporting local artists but an overriding interest in artistic quality.

Most participants we interviewed wanted the geographical focus of new public art to be the downtown business district and north.

The following lists of strengths, challenges, opportunities and aspirations were gathered as part of the interview and PAAC planning process. Note: A more complete list is in Appendix A.

Strengths

• a 4-season, walkable location

• some excellent dining options

• a range of significant tourism and recreational opportunities

• easy access from major thoroughfares

• an engaged population (especially around the arts)

• a volunteer base with years of experience working together on large projects that benefit everyone

• a history and a culture of events, including performing arts, visual arts and history-based events

• a history of success in generating grant funding

• a number of local artists and skilled craftsman who are committed to downtown vitality.

B. Interview Summary

Challenges

• many people think Havre de Grace feels stale and past its prime

• zoning and governmental review of changes in the built environmental have been insufficient or non-existent (or sometimes non-binding), resulting in an uneven streetscape aesthetic, weak expectations, and a lack of urban design discipline.

• the retail culture is not thriving. Some stores are not open at customary times.

• a general feeling of an uncertain economy

• disincentives for visitors, such as taxes, fees and tolls

• lack of consistent and reliable funding

• as across the nation, small and struggling arts groups may have difficulty seeing how this program will benefit them individually

• a lack of commitment to the downtown by absentee land ow• many volunteers are burned out

• many citizens and leaders are conservative about the built environment and have fixed or narrow views about public space

• the planning department at the city has focused on permitting and not on creating a cohesive planned environment

Urban sculptures commonly strive for a dual day/night presence.

Opportunities

• new local audiences (BRAC, “local” tourists, snowbirds)

• a strengthened connection to Aberdeen Proving Grounds and the people who have relocated to the area to work there

• strengthening the downtown connection to the waterfront and the Amtrak train

• vacant space that could be pressed into temporary service toward the larger goal (e.g., storefront exhibitions, artistic pop-ups)

• two new parks, both adjacent to existing parks replete with natural beauty and manmade landmarks (behind Citizen’s Nursing Home and along Water Street)

• a pedestrian bridge still in the early feasibility study phase

Aspirations

• a unified, connected and culturally activated place where residents work together with passion

• a place where visitors and residents alike are drawn to and through the downtown by a full range of engaging visual arts, performing arts, cultural, and recreational experiences and opportunities.

• transformation of the downtown into an engaging, colorful, creative, bold and unique area with rapidly improving design standards for public space and the streetscape

• an energetic and sophisticated place where the “cool kids hang out” 24/7

Below, left: Small things reproduced at a large scale carry a charm of their own. Big Birds, Myfanwy Macleod Olympic Plaza in Southeast False Creek, City of Vancouver Olympic and Paraolympic Park Below right: Pedestrian bridges are outstanding opportunities for the integration of art into the built environment.

• Adopt professional standards and best practices

• Celebrate the rich diversity & heritage of the area

• Be mindful of the importance of artistic quality

• Design programs/policies for sustainability

• Build on the existing legacy of public art

• Inform, engage, involve residents in the process

• Send an emphatic message of inclusion to all corners of the community

• Build partnerships in both public and private sectors

• Advocate for the public art program’s benefits to leaders and residents

• Become a resource and knowledge base for the region

Public art programs need not be organized around specific themes or goals, but frameworks can be helpful if they lead to clarity of vision or if there are strategic benefits, such as fitting the program into existing funding niches, leveraging nascent opportunities, or building partnerships with organization for whom the vision matches their mission. A few conceptual frameworks are outlined below for consideration.

Susquehanna Sculpture Trail Building on the Waterfront Heritage of Havre de Grace

If the city has a goal to reconnect the downtown with the riverfront, if there is a series of city-controlled parks and green spaces available that are strong sites for art, if there is a stable cluster of cultural and heritage organizations as potential partners, and if there is the possibility of a innovative structure such as a pedestrian bridge that can touch down in a strategic location and itself become a major artwork (for example with light), a framework organized around the creation of a riverfront sculpture trail and sculpture park that links numerous major assets and reinforces the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway could be the focus of a serious public art program.

Components can include:

Section 4: Strategic Target Zones and Art Types

A. Planning & Stakeholder Priorities B. Thematic Framework

Artists are as valuable for their ability to contrast with the forms of the built environment as for their ability to complement them.

Section 4: Strategic Target Zones and Art Types

• A major sculpture park along the riverfront at Water Street to anchor the sculpture trail, connect LSHG to the city and highlight heritage sites

• Development of a longer riverfront art trail to connect heritage and natural assets both north and south with the central business core (this would also connect the core to the water).

• Sculpture sites in parks and public spaces along the waterfront

• Sculpture within Main Street District strategically sited to be visible from waterfront

• Sculpture on riverfront strategically sited to be visible from Main Street District

• At least one large-scale landmark sculpture visible from a distance, i.e., from trains & watercraft

• Sculpture on the water’s edge and over the water itself, for example, on permanently moored barges connected to the park with walkways

• Environmental installations to deepen connections to natural assets

• Art trail can include longer-term goal of extending north with some works sites within the Greenway, and south to connect with Promenade and Marina

The Creative City Heritage-Based Revitalization of the Main Street District

• Large-scale community-wide temporary works anchored in heritage

• A master plan that creates linkages through the business district

• A sculpture trail of rotating installations on permanent pedestals

• Strategic sites for a few permanent public art landmarks: Opera House, Library, Rochambeau Plaza, Promenade, Water Street riverfront park, railroad bridge

• Smaller elements or series permanently integrated into the streetscape to discover on foot

Artist-Engaged City Design Placing artists on design teams for public spaces

• Design standards for every public space

• Artists engaged for design teams

• Artists help shape parks, trails, sidewalks, every new element

• Artists engaged to rethink existing underperforming public space, especially plazas and parks. Example:

Rochambeau Plaza

• Leverage and capitalize on existing initiatives and investments

Playground, Vicki Scuri

Every city must prioritize public art sites according to their vision, capacity, funding, stakeholder input, and synergy with other projects and opportunities. The following art types and placements provide a menu of strategic sites for public art in Havre de Grace.

• Iconic gateways: sense of arrival, sense of place & identity, branding

— Light works as intervention on bridges, especially the steel railroad bridge

— Iconic waterfront work, visible from bridges

— Otsego, Revolution, Locust street gateways

— Rochambeau Plaza

Scale: Monumental, Vehicular

C. Art Types and Placement Options

Art Type Options: 3-D, Day/Night, Environmental, Earthwork, Gateway, Site as Art, Site-Integrated, Water Feature

Duration: Permanent

For Scale, Art Type and Duration definitions, see page 38.

Note: Landmarks are often primarily drive-by experiences.

Though prominent and appealing to donors, and bolstering of local pride and identity, they require significant resources to accomplish and may not provide as much of the multi-faceted energizing function as a work that is clustered with other cultural assets in a more walkable and centralized location.

Right: Aero Agoseris by Mark Baltes, a weather vance sculpture depicting the native species of Mountain Dandelion (not the invasive common one)

Non-Sign II by Lead Pencil Studio (Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo). Blaine, Washington. Commissioned by the US government.

Magnetic landmarks for cultural hubs

— Library

— Opera House

— Rochambeau Plaza

— Promenade

— Riverfront parks visible from downtown

— Railroad bridge

Scale: Vehicular, Pedestrian, Monumental

Art Type Options: 2-D, 3-D, Day/Night, Environmental, Earthwork, Lighting, Site as Art, Site-Integrated, Water Feature, Interactive, Participatory

Duration: Permanent

Below: Needle Spindle by Cliff Garten, Rochester, NY. Below right: House of Knowledge, Juama Plensa

Three excellent and prominent downtown sites that are linked to other attractions and would reinforce the cultural and business core of Havre de Grace are Rochambeau Plaza, the

Opera House plaza and facade, and perhaps most importantly, the facade and grounds of the new library. With care, the later two could enjoy coordinated planning for maximum impact.

As a civic landmark, the new library is the most important and urgent site to integrate public art.

As a civic landmark, the new library is the most important and urgent site to integrate public art. The regal day/night, inside-out presence of architectural art glass when integrated into a prominent civic facade. Subdivisions by Anne Marie Karlsen.

• Waterfront possibilities

— Sculpture on or over the water (i.e., wind activated, reflective, floating)

— Sculpture on the edge of the water

— Art on barges or boats near shore

— Water features in city core that use or reference the river

Scale: Pedestrian, Vehicular

Art Type Options: 3-D, Day/Night, Environmental, Lighting, Site as Art, Site-Integrated, Water Feature, Interactive, Participatory

Duration: Temporary, Semi-permanent, Permanent

Above: This site north of the downtown could become one of the pre-eminent sculpture parks in Maryland. Below: A perfect setting for sculpture.

• Public sculpture park Creation of a major sculpture park requires:

— capacity building

— significant capital outlay

— curatorial expertise

— planning and design acumen

The potential long-term benefits are very significant.

Scale: Monumental, Vehicular, Pedestrian

Art Type Options: A mix of 2-D, 3-D, Day/Night, Environmental, Functional, Lighting, Serial, Site as Art, Site-Integrated, Small Scale, Water Feature, Interactive, Participatory

Duration: Mostly Permanent and Semi-permanent

A riverfront sculpture park with unique potential, including sites that project into the water, and the potential for expansion via large barges.

Any waterfront site for sculpture carries additional value due to the special lighting effects and the context or proximity of the natural world.

Above: Light Tower by Jamie Carpenter, on the Anacostia River. Below: Juame Plensa.

Top: Amur Seranade by Mary Lucking.

Middle: Generations by Frederick Franck.

• Connecting elements for paths & corridors

— Sidewalk embedments, especially when sidewalks are replaced

— Landmarks visible along key corridors

— Integrated series of small installations that create a sense of discovery and of a trail

— Sculpture trail (pedestals with temporary installations or small permanent works), especially those that showcase a variety of media, scales, topics, artists, etc.

Scale: Pedestrian

Art Type Options: 2-D, 3-D, Day/Night, Environmental, Functional, Lighting, Serial, Site-Integrated, Small Scale, Interactive, Participatory

Duration: Temporary, Semi-permanent, Permanent

Above: Blue Birds, Mark Reigelman. Thirty-five small blue resin birds installed throughout Edgewater Hill, a small section of Cleveland’s Detroit Shoreway neighborhood, in honor of the Cleveland shore’s role as a refueling stop for mass migrations along the Atlantic Flyway.

Left: (signs) Regard. by Rebecca Lowry, Los Angeles. (leaf grate) Frederick, MD.

• Artist-Integrated Design

— Artist engagement in planning public spaces, (e.g., parks, plazas, streetscapes, landscapes, neighborhoods, districts), making the spaces artistic amenities in their own right.

— Artist design of streetscape amenities & functional art (i.e. benches, historical plaques, wayfinding systems, etc.). Example: the city may commission a unique bench template for parks and streetscape, phased in over time as benches are replaced.

— An experienced artist may be engaged to consider overall cohesion of all city elements.

Scale: Vehicular, Pedestrian

Art Type Options: 2-D, 3-D, Day/Night, Environmental, Functional, Lighting, Serial, Site as Art, Site-Integrated, Interactive, Participatory

Duration: Permanent

Below: Larry Kirland

• Temporary works

— Example: Linking heritage with contemporary art for a city-wide one-season installation that partners 20 contemporary artists with 20 traditional fly-tying experts, with famous fishing flies reinterpreted by artists as large sculptures suspended over sidewalks, streets or public plaza or in private yards along a pre-determined trail

— A sculpture trail of rotating installations on permanent pedestals

— Art on the Waterfront: A sculpture trail of

Scale: Vehicular, Pedestrian

Art Type Options: 2-D, 3-D, Day/Night, Environmental, Lighting, Serial, Site as Art, Small Scale, Water Feature, Interactive, Participatory

Duration: Temporary or Semi-permanent

Below: Larry Kirland

• Which assets and zones are feasible to connect and reinforce? What are the most important priorities?

— Main Street district, restaurants & shopping

— Connecting Main Street District with the waterfront. Pennington Avenue (perhaps at St.

John) and Green Street (at St. John or at the end of the parking lot), and Franklin are especially promising because the wide streets through the downtown allow for a longer and more impressive vista. Congress, Bourbon, Girard, Alliance and Fountain, all have possibilities as well.

— Connecting Tydings Park waterfront, including museums and Promenade, with the Main Street district

— Connecting trails & parks to the north with the Main Street district, perhaps beginning with an artwork in front of the bridge over North Union that would be visible through town > The Lock House and North Park > David Craig, Jean Roberts, and Hutchins parks

• Where are best opportunities for catalytic landmarks?

— Opera House/Library

— Rochambeau Plaza

— Railroad or pedestrian bridge

— New riverfront sculpture park at Water Street

— New park near Concord Point Lighthouse

• Where are open gathering places that “belong” to the community?

— New library

— Opera House

— Rochambeau Plaza

— New Park Behind Citizen’s Nursing Home — Ground has been broken but can artist to help design the hardscape or other elements?

— New riverfront sculpture park at Water Street

— Parks near Lighthouse & Promenade

— City Hall

— Trails

• Important leverage points to lay groundwork NOW:

— Opera House/Library

— Rochambeau Plaza

— Water Street riverfront sculpture park (north)

— New pedestrian bridge

D. Strategies for Site Prioritization

• Where are beautiful settings for art?

— Cove at Maritime Museum for environmental work

— Water Street riverfront sculpture park (north)

— Concord Point Lighthouse and adjacent parks.

— Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway, North Park

Below: The area south of the downtown core is an important and gracious public space. If the area in red became a sculpture park, the synergy between the two areas would benefit the downtown.

STEP 1 (pursue concurrently)

E. Maps and Strategic Locations

The south end of town is beautifully designed. The attractions and the parks welcome visitors. If the north end were to receive equal treatment, the synergy between them would support downtown development, especially if major works of art were placed in both locations as drawing cards. A sculpture trail along the water could then connect both ends while supporting the business core with works that are visible along the corridors leading to the river.

Below: Connecting both areas along or near the waterfront would multiply the synergy and reconnect the waterfront to the core.

Below: Leveraging the three excellent downtown sites and commissioing art to reinforce the walking trails between them.

STEP 1 (pursue concurrently)

STEP 2 (pursue concurrently)

STEP 3 (pursue concurrently)

• As a rule of thumb, engage all relevant organizations, government and the larger community, formally, informally, and always transparently.

• All public engagement should be clear and accurate about its purpose and the level of participation that is appropriate at that junction:

— Educate: to provide objective information to allow people to understand the project, its potential, foreseeable pitfalls, solutions and opportunities (example: web site, public meeting, handouts)

— Consult: to receive feedback on alternatives and decisions (example: survey, feedback forum online)

— Involve: work directly with the public to be certain their thoughts are considered (example:

Public Participation Workshops to develop priorities for the first 5 years of the Public Art Plan.)

— Collaborate: include the public in each aspect of decision making (example: PAAC)

— Empower: Give the public final decision-making power (example: Artist Selection Committee)

• Create educational initiatives for public awareness (Educate and Consult)

— Website

— Fact Sheets

— Strategically timed public meetings or open houses

— Assign a point person to answer questions and publicize

— All team members should be conversant with the plan and its rationales and act as advocates and ambassadors to residents when appropriate, especially leaders and opinion makers

• As a key part of planning, bring the broader community together as a valuable partner to answer questions they care about. As residents, they have the expertise to help set the direction for the program. An early city-wide participatory meeting can generate interest, dialogue and ownership and help kick-start the program (Involve and Collaborate)

— A focused, professionally facilitated workshop process on questions of focus, emphasis, priorities and siting of public artwork

— Report the results of that process back to those interested (for instance, posting results online), including how the community information has been integrated into the planning for public art

• Engage the broader community in the artist selection process

— Include design professionals on the Artist Selection Committees (Empower)

— Designate public display of proposed finalist designs and public feedback on finalist designs as part of the artist selection process (Consult)

• Consider including interactive and participatory artistic strategies for community engagement into public artworks (Consult to Empower)

— Can be written into the Call for Artists

— Depends on the temperament, experience and desires of the artists selected the goals for the artworks

See the International Association of Public Participation Spectrum of Public Participation, “Promise to the Public” and “Example Techniques” for each level in Appendix I.

F. Strategic Community Engagement Recommendations

The watrfront: a venue rich with possibilities

Engaging the community can be an exciting, interactive and productive experience. These images all show city-wide public participation processes designed and conducted by Cochran Studio.

Things to Do Tomorrow

• As part of the procurement protocols for plans for open space, comprehensive plans, etc., include a step for review and comment by the PAAC.

• Determine how the PAAC can impact the incorporation of public art into the design of the new Library and its grounds, the reimagined Opera House, the proposed park on Water Street and the proposed pedestrian bridge. Engage PAAC members to follow those various processes and advocate for professional public artists to be included or selected at the earliest possible stages on those projects, if possible on the design team to shape the public space, and also with others engaged as part of public art commissions further along in the process.

• Determine how the PAAC can impact the design of the new park behind Citizen’s Care and Rehabilitation Center. Can an artist be hired to design pavers or other hardscape?

Laying the Groundwork for Long-term Success

• Include the PAAC in all conversations about the aesthetics of Havre de Grace.

• Identify, explore, and generate collaborative partnerships between cultural organizations, government agencies, and educational institutions.

Havre de Grace has already begun this work by creating the PAAC as a partnership of significant stakeholder groups. Use these relationships to engage appropriate groups in decision making around the public art program.

• Determine how administrative tasks of the PAAC will be handled. Will one organization be responsible? Will responsibility rotate among the PAAC organizations?

Will someone be hired for this work? Will it become the responsibility of someone at the City of Havre de Grace?

• Determine how much of the visual impact of the built environment of Havre de Grace will fall under the jurisdiction of the public art program. The spectrum includes municipal public art created with public funds or a mix of funding, municipal public art created with private funds, public art in new development created with developer funds, art in public places on private property created with private funds.

Some communities include other aspects of the built environment, like signage, exterior renovation and even paint colors for buildings. How can these guidelines become binding?

• Assess funding streams (% for art, grant funding, fundraising) and determine what activities they can each be used for (planning, art productions, maintenance funds, public art management, etc.)

• Determine if a percent for the arts program is appropriate for Havre de Grace. If so, draft appropriate legislation. Sample legislation is shown for Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania in Appendix G and for San Jose, California in Appendix R.

• Formalize and adopt durability and maintenance policies. Recommended policies are included in this plan.

• Develop and formalize an artist selection process facilitated by informed and enlightened administrators and crewed by local arts and design professionals (i.e., architects, landscape architects, professional artists, public artists) and knowledgeable and influential community residents, including historians and business people. This plan includes recommended procedures that follow nationally established best practices. One good rule of thumb is that you want people on the artist selection committees for whom being a part of this process would never make it onto their resumes.

A. Urgent Priorities

Section 5: Vision to Reality — Implementation Sequence

B. First Project Possibilities

Until you have the funding and organizational aspects of your program set up, consider these low-cost but engaging projects or similar splashy initiatives:

• Storefront exhibitions in empty storefronts, especially during events. Change regularly (quarterly?) so there is always something new in the “downtown gallery.”

• Chalk mural contest with sites through the town.

With the help of a sponsor, you supply the chalk and a couple small cash prizes: Judges Award and People’s Choice, for instance. Could coincide with an event in Tydings Park as a way to draw people downtown during their visit. Chalk murals could be on sidewalks, on walls or in cordoned off parking spaces. Develop a map of sites and a way for visitors to vote on their favorites.

• When you have a hardscape public space that is going to be paved over or destroyed, 6 months to a year before, hold a one- or two-day “Paint the Town” or “Make Your Mark” event where anyone can paint whatever family-friendly image they want on marked off 10’ squares of the soon-to-be-gone surface. A variation would be for buildings that are safe but are going to be razed. Participants supply their own paint, and perhaps pay a small fee ($5 - $20?) that will go into the public art fund. The painting could coincide with an event — or be an event of its own with ancillary events in empty retail stock downtown, dining specials, etc., to capture the extra traffic. Schools, businesses, families and individuals can participate, and you could also have a sponsor to help raise money and to supply water, etc.

• Work with the Economic Development department to explore artist pop-ups in empty retail stock, especially during events and during holiday shopping seasons.

These pop-ups could be product based (an individual jeweler/sculptor/painter, a juried craft show, a Christmas ornament bazaar) or performance based (an indoor location to see various dance troupes perform, a series of 10-minute plays) or interactive/creation-based (make-it/take-it event, learn to draw caricatures – new class every hour with limited seating).

• Give local artists a chance to show their talents in the opening salvo of the public art program by creating a Decoys of Havre de Grace temporary exhibit through the city, using the tried-and-true method of fiberglass forms that can be painted and decorated in a large variety of ways. Many cities have done these Animals on Parade projects successfully; a template exists to raise funds while also giving local artists a forum and spreading excitement about your new program. Two caveats: Animals on Parade generally do not help your mission of raising artistic standards, and they only work once. http://cowpainters.com/public-art

• Pair artists with fly fishing tie experts to create a temporary exhibit (for the tourist season? for one year) of The Fishing Flies of Havre de Grace. This could be used as a more sophisticated variant of Animals on Parade or as a second year follow-on to that program that is different enough to still be a real asset to your developing program. You could use a similar sponsorship/temporary art/auction method, but this project would not be as likely to put money in your coffers because the artists would need to be properly compensated for this more difficult, more expensive, time-consuming, and unique series of artworks.

Advantages of fishing flies as a theme include the heritage link, the cross-cultural connection, and the broad variety of siting options for artworks that could be relatively lightweight, colorful and kinetic.

Section 5: Vision to Reality — Implementation Sequence

Planning

• Determine an initial 5-10 year Schedule of Implementation. Public participation can be used to help prioritize sites and the mix or art types, or this work can be done within the committee.

• Determine which goals you will try to reach in 1-2 years. Implement.

• Revise and update your 1-2 year plan each year. Revise and update your 5-10 year plan every 5 years. As you progress, what is feasible will change.

• Although outside the scope of this report, we suggest you apply for an American Institute of Architects Sustainable Design Assessment Team grant and process for your most vexing urban planning problems (the route 40 corridor? how to reclaim your waterfront?

how to integrate urban planning into the City Planning Department). For a minimal investment, you could get a customized team of top-notch urban planners and affiliated professionals to visit, thoroughly review and give tailored recommendations for your exact situation.