ENID, OK - Updated: July 18, 2017 - The Enid City Commission voted Tuesday night 4-3 in favor of the downtown public art project. $30,000 was approved from the public art fund created by the City four years ago. The location of the project in the green space between Convention Hall and Garriott was also approved.
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A packed house was on hand in the City chambers to hear the discussion. Several residents spoke against the project while others spoke in favor. The room seemed almost split down the middle. Mayor Shewey, Commissioners Ezzell, Wilson and Pankonin voted to approve the art project while Commissioners Janzen, Norwood and Waddell voted against the project.
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Artist Romy Owens, an Enid native, and Adam Lanham, an artist/architect from Tulsa, conceived the downtown public art project that will be located in the green space south of the Convention Hall. The site plan was originally submitted to the City on June 26, 2017. Owens described the project as, "A gathering place that is unique and distinctive that puts Enid on the map."
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Commissioner Ben Ezzell had said, "I'm really excited about this." Ezzell serves on the Enid Arts Council which approved of the project and awarded it a $5,000 grant. Commissioner Tammy Wilson has stated that this is the first time an artist has approached the commission to request any of the public art funds. Wilson is the representative of the Public Arts Commission which also approved the art.
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During the prior Commission meetings, Commissioner Ron Janzen raised questions about how it was going to be built, what materials would be used and how large the art project would be. Lanham gave structural details about the project saying the sculptural pavilion is designed to measure 25 feet tall (28 feet at its tallest point), 15 to 35 feet wide and 130 feet long. It will be built with structural steel tubing with a metal mesh skin covering the project. The public art piece is expected to last at least 10 years but with proper maintenance, could become a permanent Enid landmark.
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Commissioner Jonathan Waddell had asked what message the artist was sending. Owens said the idea was a universal connection of the stars and how we look to the stars in different ways. She said she wanted to present a micro universe, an artistically interpreted universe that inspires that awe of what the stars can be to so many different people on so many different levels. She hopes it will bring human connections closer together.
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"Why would anyone gather there? I don't know why I would go down there to stand inside this." asked Commissioner Janzen at one meeting. Owens explained that people seek out solitary places for unique experiences and comfort. She said, "You could have picnic there, you could have teenage dreaming there, you could have marriage proposals there, you could have very small weddings there."
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This is an artist-led project, which means the artists initiated this idea and must secure the funding through individual donations and grants available to individual artists. The pair has begun fundraising for the project and had asked for funding from the City Commission through PACE. The tentative budget for their project is one hundred thousand ($100,000.00) dollars. An additional $200,000 is being raised by in kind donations. They have received private donations from a Go Fund Me account and a five thousand dollar ($5,000.00) grant from the Enid Arts Council.
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The epic public art piece in downtown Enid is titled "Under Her Wing was the Universe". Inside the art piece, visitors will experience a micro-universe of lights. Imagine stepping under the shelter of a bird's wing and seeing the universe. They imagine this becoming the kind of destination where memorable moments could happen: a first kiss, a proposal, teenage daydreaming, or a picnic with friends. The contemporary art work would transform the vacant block on the south lawn of the CNB Center: Park Avenue, between Grand and Independence, and add another great attraction to the downtown Enid community.
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"Under Her Wing was the Universe" was inspired by Owen's relationship with her mom. Her mom inspired her to dream and imagine unlimited possibilities. Hopefully, everyone has had a person like that in our lives. With this artwork, imagine stepping under the shelter of a bird’s wing and seeing an universe within it. Inside this large sculpture, visitors will find a sanctuary-like setting with a light installation above that presents a artist-interpreted universe of stars overhead.
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Individual residents can help support this project. By giving at any level, you would be contributing to the production of art that will transform our community. Donating $100 would allow you to name a star in the public art universe. Donating $1,000 would allow you to name ten stars and one constellation. Higher donations receive more incentives in the project.
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The goal is to raise $100,000 to create this work in October 2017. This is an architectural-scale work of art. Funds will be used to buy materials, rent equipment, run electricity, and cover travel expenses, signage production, installation insurance, artist fees, and landscaping costs.
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The fundraising goal must be reached by July 30 to maintain their timeline. The timeline for the project is very short, with installation being planned for September 2017. There is a significant amount of work that occurs before moving the materials on site to erect the structure and install the lights. If they cannot raise the funds in time, they will still create the work, they will just push the timeline back.
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This work of contemporary art would become a significant destination for Enid residents and visitors alike. Learn more and donate at their Go Fund Me account. If you prefer to pay by check and bypass processing fees, you can mail that directly to Owens. Email her at (theromyowens @ gmail . com) for her mailing address. Your check will be logged as an offline donation and still count towards their goal.
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City Votes 4-3 In Favor Of Public Art Project
I am an art fan as much as the next person and perhaps a little more so but really… “Owens said the idea was a universal connection of the stars and how we look to the stars in different ways. She said she wanted to present a micro universe, an artistically interpreted universe that inspires that awe of what the stars can be to so many different people on so many different levels. She hopes it will bring human connections closer together.”
Enid has had to send children home from school an hour early because of a lack of teachers and with NOC having a planetarium already, lets spend our money where it is needed…educating our children, NOT presenting a micro universe. If they aren’t taught in school they won’t know what that means anyway, I’d like to see my grandson learn to read and write in cursive since grade school forgot to teach it.
Enid Oklahoma is a great place to raise kids but it has a lot to be desired that cost a lot of money. I would rather see my grandchildren with a good education than remembering a funny place where they got their first kiss. Besides that’s a lot of money for something that could very well wind up all over that part of town after some straight line winds get hold of it.
Since early cave drawings man has found art to be a way of rejuvenating their souls and as today felt a need to express their innermost feelings. The miracle is one does not need to be artistic to enjoy this free expression of others. Would spending this money on schools be a better use of the money? Our nation already spends far more money on education than most countries with half the results. How much was spent on the school district administration building? Doubt if any student will have learned anything from that expenditure. I am a 72 year old man that still remembers his first kiss and first puppy love and no it wasn’t my wife of over 50 years. I just think if one can remember something that long it is real education. I say build this art project and hopefully it will bring back old memories or will instill new insights into your life. God Bless
I’m all for this if they aren’t using city funds… They are using our tax dollars for this ugly thing?? Maybe they should have given the actual citizens a vote on this then since we are the ones funding part of it. I don’t care if it’s the smaller part.. You forcefully take our money via taxes and it SHOULD be used for upkeep in this city rather than ugly projects that may only last 10 years! Why can’t we just repair some streets that need repairing? Every year they keep having to patch the pot holes down my street and if they’d just fix it right the first time we wouldn’t have this issue… I see some of the older streets around town that have stood the test of time because they were actually done right the first time..
It seems if we spent money now on repairing streets the right way the first time we wouldn’t have to touch the same ones up in the same spots with that black garbage each year.. I know that’s cheaper for now but can you really tell me it’s cheaper in the long haul? Even if it is somehow that money could have gone to fixing up the town, not making it uglier. Not for using a cent of city money for art. This should never happen and should NOT be legal.