The Administration is seeking direction regarding the six month installation of the art work.  In the event the Mayor and Commission are in favor of the loan, the City Manager would need authorization to approve a long-term special event permit for the six month installation of the art work, as well as negotiating a loan agreement between the City and the artist/gallery, to be executed by the Mayor.

BACKGROUND

City staff was approached by artist Lorenzo Quinn regarding the temporary loan of a sculpture to the City of Miami Beach for placement in Lummus Park between 14-15th Streets  for a period of six months.

Quinn has exhibited his works in galleries and museums around the globe. For the 2013 Art Miami Week, Lorenzo Quinn presented at Context Art Miami, as well as a solo exhibition titled Poems at Galleria Ca' d'Oro in the heart of the Miami Design District in collaboration with Halcyon Gallery. In 2008 Evolution, a major exhibition of Quinn’s work, was chosen to inaugurate the new premises of Halcyon Gallery in Mayfair, London, and the gallery published a book on his work. Many of the sculptures in Evolution featured the symbol that has become synonymous with Quinn: the human hand. “I wanted to sculpt what is considered the hardest and most technically challenging part of the human body”, he explains. “The hand holds so much power – the power to love, to hate, to create, to destroy. I have injected a lifetime of experience into Evolution; it is about my past, present and future.”

In 2017, Quinn created Support, which features two giant hands reaching out of Venice’s Grand Canal in front of the Ca’Sagredo Hotel.  Installed by Halcyon Gallery, the work is meant to be at once a warning of the existential threat faced by cities like Venice due to rising sea levels as well as a call to action—a reminder that we, like the pair of giant white hands, can play a role in slowing global warming.

The work proposed by Quinn for loan to the City of Miami Beach is entitled Renewable Dreams and is described here in the artist's words:

Renewable Dreams

As a father of three I often think about their future and their children's future.

It is unsettling to see that many of our decisions and the decisions of our past generations have not taken into full account the effects these decisions will have on the following generations.

Many of these decisions have only taken into account immediate compensation. I am relieved to see however that great strides have been made to replace finite energy resources with renewable energies. This will benefit us all as we move into the future.

The sculpture is reminiscent of the memory game 'Simon' as a reminder that we should never forget that the importance our future is not a game at all.

The hands holding the windmill are those of our future generations that represent a hope to be able to live in a world that will no longer rely on fossil energy.

On January 13, 2016, the City of Miami Beach Mayor’s Ocean Drive Task Force issued a report detailing recommendations that would improve Ocean Drive and the immediately surrounding community; creating a family-friendly, safe environment without diminishing its commercial energy; enhancing its reputation as one of the world’s most iconic destinations; and thoughtfully highlighting its internationally acclaimed architecture, park, and beach. Of the twenty-nine recommendations, two points focused on arts and culture, including identifying a concessionaire to implement regular Lummus Park arts and crafts shows and to partner with community art patrons and institutions to install sculptural art. 

Since this time, staff from the Tourism, Culture and Economic Development Department held several meetings with the Ocean Drive Task Force, including with Jonathan Plutzik, Chair, Ocean Drive Task Force.  The Ocean Drive Task Force expressed great interest in activating Lummus Park with large scale, temporary public art installations and strongly support the temporary installation of Quinn's Renewable Dreams sculpture. 

A special event permit is needed to permit and prescribe needed conditions to temporary and conditional uses on public or private property, that are not otherwise managed through a specific license or process. The process requires application be made by specific deadlines (60 days for most public property uses; 30 days for most private property uses), as well as a series of requirements and deliverables determined by the codified Special Event Requirements and Guidelines, and prescribed by the specific event needs.  These requirements include providing the City proper insurance and indemnification; requisite fees and deposits; and, when necessary, review, staffing and permitting from the Police, Fire, Sanitation, Parking and Building Departments of the City, as well as other County and State agencies.  

The final approval of the work is subject to the drafting and execution of a loan agreement between the City of Miami Beach and Lorenzo Quinn and/or the gallery representative. As deemed necessary, the loan agreement shall require all design, fabrication, installation, insurance, bonding, and maintenance, as deemed applicable shall be solely underwritten by the proposed donor. 

If required, utility connections, site modifications, structural reinforcements, or other engineering requirements, and/or site modifications should be described in the donation proposal, and developed by way of construction plans and specifications.  The donor shall be responsible for any architectural and /or engineering plans, if required, which must be prepared and stamped by a licensed architect and/or engineer.

The Administration is seeking direction regarding the six month installation of the art work.  In the event the Mayor and Commission are in favor of the loan, the City Manager would need authorization to approve a long-term special event permit for the six month installation of the art work, as well as negotiating a loan agreement between the City and the artist/gallery, to be executed by the Mayor.