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Art board approves $74,736 for Armando Badia Senior Center art and shortlists five artists
Summary
The Art in Public Places Board approved up to $74,736.11 to commission public art at the Doctor Armando Badia Senior Center (District 4) and approved five shortlisted artists to develop proposals; both motions passed 6-0.
The Art in Public Places Board approved a $74,736.11 expenditure from the Art in Public Places Fund to commission design services and artist engagement for public art at the Doctor Armando Badia Senior Center in District 4, and separately approved the PAC-recommended shortlist of five artists who will develop proposals for the site. Both votes were recorded 6-0.
Why it matters: the commission will integrate public art into the center’s exterior gates and an interior dining-hall wall as part of a renovation intended to reopen the facility for public programming. The board’s approval provides the AIPP office authority to pay for proposals, production, permitting and a school-based educational component tied to the project.
Budget and allocation: staff described the $74,736.11 total as the 1.5% AIPP allocation for the capital project. The staff-presented breakdown included $5,000 for the call-to-artist and shortlisted-artist honoraria (five artists at $1,000 each), $44,840 for creation, acquisition, permitting and installation, $3,736.81 for educational programming with a local school, and roughly $21,000 remaining in the AIPP fund to cover maintenance, administration and other code-directed allocations. Board members repeatedly asked for a clearer, itemized calculation demonstrating those percentages and how the remaining balance will be used.
Shortlist: the board approved the PAC’s recommended top five shortlisted artists for the Armando Badia Senior Center: Magna Soetman, Cydia Reyes, Carolina Sardi, Joyce Bellet and Jesse Knight. PAC members who recommended the shortlist included Adler Guerrier, Catherine Cathers and Rocha Yanesa; district appointee Jose Del Risco participated in the PAC meeting.
Board questions and context: several board members pressed staff for clarity on how the $44,840 figure was determined and how AIPP funds interact with construction budgets (for example whether gate fabrication is an art expense or part of the project’s construction contract). Staff said the gate structure will be part of the construction contract and the AIPP funding would cover artistic design, embellishment and installation tasks performed in coordination with the builder. Board members suggested the PAC be asked to justify the number of shortlisted artists (PAC guidelines allow three to five), and asked PAC members to attend future board meetings to explain selection decisions.
Process and vote: the board passed two separate resolutions: AIPP Resolution 17559 (expenditure up to $74,736.11) and AIPP Resolution 17558 (approval of the five shortlisted artists). Both motions were seconded and passed by roll-call vote, 6-0. Staff said the project timeline aims for completion by July 2025 and that one nearby school will be selected for the educational programming.
Next steps: staff will issue the design brief to the five shortlisted artists, award the $1,000 proposal honoraria, and return to the board with finalist proposals and recommended production budgets. The board requested a clearer, itemized pre-vote budget and asked staff to invite PAC members to a future meeting to discuss selection rationale.
