A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE ART IN PUBLIC PLACES COMMITTEE ("AIPP COMMITTEE"), TO SHORTLIST THE SELECTION OF ARTWORKS BY (1) EBONY PATTERSON, REPRESENTED BY MONIQUE MELOCHE; (2) Ll JINGU, REPRESENTED BY MAGICIAN SPACE; (3) TODD GRAY, REPRESENTED BY DAVID LEWIS; (4) DIDIER WILLIAM, REPRESENTED BY JAMES FUENTES; (5) ANOUKA BOAFA, REPRESENTED BY MARIANE IBRAHIM GALLERY; (6) PAULO VIVACQUA, REPRESENTED BY ANITA SCHWARTZ GALLERY; AND (7) PAUL MPAGI SEPUYA, REPRESENTED BY DOCUMENT, TO BE CONSIDERED FOR ACQUISITION AS PART OF THE ART IN PUBLIC PLACES LEGACY PURCHASE PROGRAM; FURTHER, PURSUANT TO 82-612(F) OF THE CITY CODE, APPROVING THE CITY'S PURCHASE OF ONE OR MORE OF THE SHORTLISTED ARTWORKS, WITH THE FINAL SELECTIONS OF THE ARTWORKS TO BE MADE BASED ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE AIPP COMMITTEE, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SELECTION CRITERIA SET FORTH IN THE CITY'S AIPP ORDINANCE AND AIPP GUIDELINES, AND A PUBLIC VOTE PROCESS (VIA AN ELECTRONIC MEDIUM); AND FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO PURCHASE THE FINAL ARTWORK(S), IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $100,000, AND TO EXECUTE ANY RELATED AGREEMENTS.

The administration recommends that the Mayor and Commission approve the Art in Public Places Committee recommendation of the selection of artworks by Ebony Patterson represented by moniquemeloche; Li Jingu represented by Magician Space; Todd Gray represented by David Lewis; Didier William represented by James Fuentes; Anouka Boafo represented by Mariane Ibrahim Gallery; Paulo Vivacqua represented by Anita Schwartz Gallery; and Paul Mpagi Sepuya represented by DOCUMENT to be considered for acquisition to the Art in Public Places Legacy Purchase Program, as per the program guidelines attached (AiPP Legacy Purchase Guidelines).

The Art in Public Places Legacy Program was adopted by the City Commission on September 11, 2019 via Resolution 2019-30989. This initiative was established to deepen the connection of the City of Miami Beach residents and Art Basel Miami Beach by allowing the Miami Beach community to come together and select a legacy piece for our Art in Public Places collection to exist within the Miami Beach Convention Center campus year-round.

The Art in Public Places (AiPP) Ordinance (Ordinance No. 95-2985) was adopted in 1995. The ordinance was created to “enhance the aesthetic environment of the City of Miami Beach by including works of art on public property within the City and in City construction projects.”

The AiPP program is currently funded by 2% of all hard costs of City projects, including new construction, additions, and costs for construction of joint private/public projects. The fund is used for the commission or acquisition of works of art; conservation and maintenance of works of art; research and evaluation of works of art; printing and distribution of related materials; and administration.

The goals of the AiPP program are: overseeing the City's public art collection; enhancing the physical environment of Miami Beach with artworks of the highest level of quality and suitability for the site; serving as the coordinating body for all public art projects on City property; building partnerships with the private sector, non-profit and community groups that connect the AiPP projects to the life of the City; encouraging participation by artists based locally, nationally and internationally; and serving as a source of information about public art.

In a continued effort to support partnerships and build the Miami Beach Art in Public Places Collection in a thoughtful, strategic way, Miami Beach Art in Public Places and Art Basel Miami Beach are establishing a legacy purchase program. On August 27, 2019, the Art in Public Places Committee held a meeting to discuss this initiative and made a formal recommendation that the Mayor and Commission approve the use of funds for this first acquisition. On September 11, 2019, the City Commission accepted this recommendation via Resolution 2019-30989.

The funding for this purchase already exists and has been identified from the Art in Public Places fund, from contingency funding not utilized during the production of the Miami Beach Convention Center Art in Public Places installations.  All maintenance of the purchased piece will also come from this fund.

The Tourism and Culture department have been working directly with Art Basel Miami Beach to orchestrate this initiative and issued a call for available works to galleries participating in the Nova and Positions sectors of Art Basel Miami Beach 2019. The call received twenty-seven submissions. The Art in Public Places Committee met on October 22, 2019 and selected a short list of seven (7) artworks that will be considered for the Legacy Purchase Program. The artworks were selected based on artistic excellence, relevance of the artwork in terms of current artistic practice, national and international representation, suitability of the artwork in a public environment and investment value to the Art in Public Places Collection. The recommended artists and representing galleries are noted as follows:

Ebony Patterson represented by moniquemeloche

Li Jingu represented by Magician Space

Todd Gray represented by David Lewis

Didier William represented by James Fuentes

Anouka Boafo represented by Mariane Ibrahim Gallery

Paulo Vivacqua represented by Anita Schwartz Gallery

Paul Mpagi Sepuya represented by DOCUMENT

The Art in Public Places Committee will see all seven pieces in person on Wednesday December 4th at 11:00am, prior to the public opening of Art Basel.  Following these viewings, the AiPP Committee will choose three (3) pieces to be put to a public vote for twenty four (24) hours.

The short list of three (3) selected artworks will be posted on the City of Miami Beach's social media accounts, along with photos, descriptions and artist / gallery interviews (where possible) for popular vote on Wednesday, December 4, 2019 at 8PM. Residents of Miami Beach are encouraged to purchase tickets to Art Basel Miami Beach to see the selected works, when Art Basel opens to the public on Thursday December 5th at 3pm. Voting ends on Thursday, December 5, 2019 at 8PM.

The artwork with the most votes will be announced on Friday, December 6, 2019 at 9a.m. The selected work will become part of the Miami Beach Art in Public Places Collection and will be displayed within the Miami Beach Convention Center campus.

The intent of the Legacy Purchase Program is to connect the Miami Beach residents with Art Basel Miami Beach, by having them be an active participant in the selection of a legacy piece for our public art collection, while supporting artists and art galleries that participate in the annual art fair, while also bringing awareness to the investment the community has made in the Miami Beach Convention Center, where the art will be showcased for years to come.