Toledo arts office outlines completed and upcoming public-art projects, accessibility upgrades

Nathan Matamo, director of Toledo—s Art in Public Places program, told the Toledo City Council Parks, Education, Recreation and Health Committee that the office completed a range of site-specific works this year and has several installations and accessibility upgrades in production.

Matamo said the program—s goals include "supporting local artists, enhancing public spaces through art" and building "social cohesion and belonging," and he framed the presentation around recently finished work, projects underway, conservation, and education efforts.

Major completed projects Matamo described include interactive installations produced for last year—s Momentum Festival by Detroit artist Daniel Cascardo and Gerard Nadeau of Bowling Green State University; a city-flag redesign process that generated 86 submissions (68 deemed eligible) and roughly 260 public responses; and three artworks for the new Lucas County Canine Care and Control building by Hannah Layman, Jack Wilson, Kathy Padani and Graphite Design and Build.

Matamo said the office is finishing a mural and bus wrap honoring Rosa Parks at TARTA—s hub (installed on Parks—s birthday) and has a series of projects scheduled or under construction: a painted "shoot-around" basketball court at the new William and Palmer YMCA with artist Andrea Bergart (scheduled for dedication Oct. 10), a 15-foot steel sculpture by Blessing Hancock for International Cove (installation planned for March ahead of a Memorial Day weekend park opening), and three sculptures installed along the Bridal Mile corridor (dedicated July 7).

He cautioned that one large construction project, the Uptown Green Shade Structure, "is on hold at the moment" because the city—s recently passed project labor agreement (PLA) affects procurement and bidding. "We do have it engineered. We do have a contractor in place, and once the PLA is finalized, we will—rebid this and kind of reengage the contractor on this project," Matamo said.

The office is also advancing public-art adjuncts and conservation work. Matamo reported a vessel sculpture hit by a truck is repaired and scheduled to return in October; a Kabuki-dancer sculpture will be relocated from Lubbock Square to Beshinsteen Park with a probable spring reinstallation; and the Aratatum column is being stripped, repainted and rewired so lighting elements will be replaced "before hockey season starts," which Matamo described as aimed to be in place by Nov. 1.

Matamo highlighted an accessibility audit completed with the Ability Center that examined every piece in the city—s public-art collection (a report he described as more than 1,000 pages). The audit identified signage legibility, adjacent parking and route issues; the office has begun updating plaques and interpretation and launched a Bloomberg Connects web platform and a Google Arts & Culture page so visitors can access audio descriptions and screen-reader-friendly content. "He did the Bloomberg app... and is also working on the signage project," Matamo said, attributing the audit and app work to Ben Cook, Art in Public Places coordinator.

On maintenance and small-scale acquisitions, Matamo said staff are assessing artist-designed benches across the city, removing benches in disrepair (examples on Delaware were removed), replacing Junction Park benches and commissioning up to 10 new artist-designed benches for parks and prominent transit stops. He said the new bench design uses vinyl-wrapped aluminum to improve durability.

Education and community engagement remain central to the program. The Young Artist at Work program completed three projects this year, including a mural at Compassion Health that included teaching on Door Street—s history and redlining. Matamo and Mark (staff) also previewed Artomatic 419, returning after a decade with 106 visual artists and 50 performers taking spaces at Erie Street Market and the Center Gallery.

Councilwoman Williams praised the Compassion Health mural, noting its visual references to redlining and the community process used to develop the work.

The Arts in Public Places staff told the committee they are coordinating with other city departments and partners (Metroparks, Lucas County, TARTA, the YMCA, engineering and water departments) on site-specific projects, and that a few larger construction projects are paused until procurement under the PLA is finalized.

The committee did not take formal votes on any items during the presentation; staff invited committee members to ask questions and offered to provide additional project details as requested.