Arts commission approves Anissa Franco as artist finalist for Old East Dallas public art project

The Arts and Culture Advisory Commission voted to accept the Public Art Committee’s recommendation to name Anissa Franco the artist finalist for the Old East Dallas public art project.

Commission staff presented the committee’s recommendation and the commission moved and seconded the recommendation; commissioners who had served on the selection committee described deliberations and the reasoning that led to Franco’s selection for the Old East Dallas site. One commissioner raised a question about timeline overlap with another project the artist was doing (Singing Hills Recreation Center). Committee members and staff responded that the artist is using different fabrication methods for the two projects and that the selection committee judged Franco’s proposal the strongest fit for the Old East Dallas site. The public art committee had voted to recommend the artist at its most recent meeting.

The chair called the question; the vote was unanimous with no opposition recorded. The commission therefore approved the committee recommendation and will proceed with next steps in the public-art process for the Old East Dallas project.

Why it matters: Selection of an artist finalist moves the public-art project into site- and contract-related phases that require staff follow-up on fabrication, scheduling and any required city approvals. Commissioners asked about scheduling and construction logistics; staff noted fabrication by different fabricators to reduce timeline conflicts and said the public art committee had conducted a panel review prior to the recommendation.