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While the Spurs continue their public listening tour on the proposed downtown sports and entertainment district, a separate meeting Tuesday evening will give San Antonio residents and artists an early chance to discuss what artwork could eventually become part of the proposed Project Marvel district centered on a new Spurs arena and Hemisfair.
District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo is hosting the roundtable at Contemporary at Blue Star. About a dozen artists are expected to participate.
Plans for Project Marvel include a new Spurs arena, retail and entertainment development, and new public spaces. Sculptor Bill Fitzgibbons said community input should come before the city begins selecting artists or commissioning public art.
“What's extremely important about developing public art is stakeholder input,” Fitzgibbons said. “And also getting some other community aspects to participate in public art, i.e. the Spurs themselves.”
San Antonio has funded public art through capital projects since the early 1990s. Fitzgibbons said the city now dedicates 1.5% of eligible capital project budgets to commissioning public art.
“San Antonio's had a very good public art program since the early '90s,” he said. “Typically, money for public art is a small percentage, one to 2%, from capital projects.”
With a proposed $1.3 billion arena as the centerpiece of a roughly $4 billion sports and entertainment district, Fitzgibbons said the project could support major public art commissions by local, national and international artists.
Before the city issues requests for qualifications, he said officials should hear from neighborhood associations, nearby business owners and other community stakeholders.
“I think it's good for them to have some input from neighborhood associations from downtown, business owners that are adjacent to Hemisfair, to have their input as to what kind of public art that they would like to see happen for Project Marvel,” Fitzgibbons said.
The process of selecting, designing, fabricating and installing public art will likely take years. Fitzgibbons said artists likely won't be selected until the district's design is finalized and officials determine where artwork will go.
Tuesday's roundtable begins at 6 p.m. at Contemporary at Blue Star. The public is invited to attend and offer input.
