Ojai conservation report finds deferred maintenance across public-art collection; council asked to fund repairs

At a Sept. 9 special joint session, the City of Ojai Council and the Ojai Arts Commission reviewed a conservation assessment that found years of deferred maintenance across the city’s public-art collection and recommended prioritized repairs and follow-up actions.

The assessment was produced by LA Art Labs, represented at the meeting by principal conservator Camilla Corbella, who described the scope of treatments the firm recommends after a site-by-site review of sculptures and site‑specific works. "Any areas of corrosion, which is very normal at this stage for an outdoor sculpture, will also be treated," Corbella said in a recorded interview played for the council and commission.

The audit identifies a range of conditions: some works are stable but need routine cleaning; others show corrosion, cracking or pitting that will require more extensive conservation; one work—Reflections of Ojai at Bryant Park—was described as a "total loss" after an earlier sandblasting incident. The commission said ownership and maintenance obligations vary: some pieces are the city’s responsibility, while others fall to building owners under the percent-for-art agreements that originally commissioned them.

Why this matters: commissioners and conservators said delaying maintenance increases future costs and can put artwork at risk of irreversible loss. The report stresses that regular maintenance budgeting and clearer stewardship assignments…