Appleton arts committee accepts donor-funded Houdini panels, sets selection and documentation deadlines

The Appleton Public Arts Committee voted March 4 to accept a private-donor proposal to refresh the Houdini Welcome Tower with Houdini-themed panels, approving the donor-funded option with conditions that the donor and Appleton Downtown Inc. (ADI) supply multiple public-domain images and cover all project costs.

Steph Lina, the city's economic development specialist, told the committee staff had two paths to consider: continue with a community photo contest or accept a donor-funded, Houdini-year installation. "We have 2 options before the board today," Lina said, framing the choice between a new contest and the donor-backed Houdini panels.

Tom Bold, a volunteer with the Houdini-year organizers, described planned events tied to the centennial commemoration and said a private donor would cover the cost of the panels. Bold also warned committee members that the city requires images to be in the public domain and recommended additional copyright checks. "We need to do a little more research just to make sure that we're not going to be infringing on any copyrights," he said.

Alex Shultz, who represents Sculpture Valley and has worked with ADI’s creative committee, said ADI can present a broad set of candidate images and assist with suggested crops and color treatments. ADI proposed presenting a set of images and suggested the committee could either select and crop images itself or ask ADI to prepare cropped, color-corrected options for committee review.

Committee member Jake Bauer moved to pursue the donor-funded option (Option 2) with conditions: Creative Downtown Inc. and ADI must provide multiple images to the public arts committee before the April 1 meeting; Creative Downtown Inc. will cover all necessary costs for the project; and creator John Templeton (as proposed) will gift the panels to the public arts committee for future use. The motion also preserved the committee’s existing contest funds for a future contest. The motion was seconded by Laura Hoekstra and approved by voice vote.

City staff outlined a timeline: ADI/Creative Downtown Inc. and partners were asked to submit image proposals to staff by Friday, March 20 so staff can compile a committee packet (anticipated March 26 distribution) and allow the committee to vote on final images at the April 1 meeting. Staff also said operations/municipal services would handle installation logistics if the design and schedule proceed through municipal services and council review.

The committee emphasized documentation requirements: ADI should provide evidence that candidate images are public-domain or otherwise cleared for use. The committee also discussed format constraints—the tower uses 12 panels—and asked ADI to present significantly more than 12 images so the committee can curate placement and aesthetic balance.

Next steps: ADI/Creative Downtown Inc. to deliver image submissions and public-domain documentation to staff by March 20; staff to compile the packet for distribution March 26; the public arts committee will review and select final panels at its April 1 meeting; installation timing is being coordinated with municipal services and event scheduling tied to the Society of American Magicians' July convention.