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Commission approves Nora District public artworks by Carolyn Salas and GT2P
Summary
The West Palm Beach City Commission on Sept. 15 unanimously approved Resolution 193-25 to accept two public artworks for the Nora District, meeting the project's 1% public art requirement (about $795,045).
The West Palm Beach City Commission on Sept. 15 unanimously approved Resolution 193-25 to accept two proposed public artworks for the Nora District and satisfy the project's 1% public art requirement, roughly $795,045. Sibile9 Cantel, director of arts, culture and community building, presented the pieces and the curatorial rationale to the commission. Cantel said the Nora team selected American artist Carolyn Salas to create two mirrored, relief-like wall installations and the Chilean collective Great Things to People (GT2P) for a functional sculptural piece inspired by the everyday act of sharpening a pencil. "They selected 2 artists. The first 1, Carolyn Salas, ... and Great Things to People ... embrace experimentation and digital process, bringing the new and the old," Cantel said. The Salas works will be painted wall reliefs—each more than 14 feet—incorporating curvature and geometric forms and lit to increase visual effect. The GT2P piece will be fabricated from corten (quarantined) steel with a protective coating to limit staining and surface temperature so people may sit on or use portions of the work; Cantel said the coating will "keep the temperature of the metal down and ... it doesn't stain anything." Commissioners and staff described the works as site-specific elements meant to "bridge the old and the new" by reusing the Nora District's warehouse character and emphasizing materiality, hospitality and interaction. President Lambert and Commissioner Fox both praised the selection; Fox asked staff to confirm the metal coating to avoid heat and glare, and Cantel responded that the proposed finish addresses those concerns. The motion to approve Resolution 193-25 passed unanimously. Cantel said the pieces are sited on large pocket parks and two facing walls in the Nora District and that the developer exceeded the minimum public art requirement to reach the curatorial vision. Installation timing was tied to later phases of the Nora development.
