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Art in Public Places board ratifies student finalist for citywide storm-drain art project
Summary
The Art in Public Places Board approved the selection of four shortlisted student artists and named a finalist for a City of Miami storm-drain public art project, authorizing a $15,000 design and production budget. The board voted 6-0 to ratify the recommendation with a minor amendment to the finalist's design brief.
The Art in Public Places Board voted 6-0 to approve the selection of four shortlisted student artists and to name a finalist for the City of Miami Storm Drain Project, file ID 17557. The board also approved the project budget and the production and educational-payments package for student participants.
The board’s action ratifies a professional advisory committee (PAC) recommendation and further approves the finalist student artist for a citywide installation campaign intended to mark storm drains and remind residents that what goes into drains can reach the ocean. The project is a collaboration with the Office of Resilience and Sustainability, Ocean Conservancy, Inc., and Florida International University (FIU).
Why it matters: the project pairs public-art messaging with stormwater outreach, using student designs displayed near storm drains across the city to show the connection between local littering and ocean pollution. The board’s approval clears the way for production and initial deployment of the approved designs.
Key details: the PAC reviewed 34 student proposals from FIU and shortlisted four: Chloe Cortier, Gabriel Ebelard, Genesys de los Santos, and Mickey Langway. The board approved payment and award terms that bring the project budget to $15,000: $500 honoraria for each of the four shortlisted artists, an additional $1,000 to the selected finalist, $1,000 earmarked for an educational component, $1,000 in contingency, and $10,000 for production and installation. The PAC had identified Gabriel Ebelard as the recommended finalist based on clarity of messaging; the board instead ratified Chloe Cortier as the finalist during its vote and included an amendment asking the finalist to avoid organic-food imagery in the design brief.
The Office of Resilience and Sustainability provided a written statement read into the record thanking the board and noting that “communicating climate-change impacts through art is a priority” for the office and that art can engage residents on resilience and cleanliness.
Process and vote: the board’s motion (AIPP Resolution 17557) approved the top-four shortlist and ratified the finalist; the motion was seconded and passed on a 6-0 roll-call vote. The board also discussed whether wording on some designs should be changed (for example to read “drains to the ocean”) and confirmed production will be handled by a city-contracted vendor rather than the student authors.
What's next: staff will pass PAC comments and the board’s requested wording changes to the finalist for refinement and proceed with production scheduling and deployment. The PAC and Resilience Office will continue to coordinate final color and site-selection choices for initial placements.
