Public Square to get three art projects

The re-creation of Nashville's Public Square in front of the historic Metro Courthouse will include three pieces of public art to be commissioned for a total of $350,000.

The Metro Nashville Arts Commission's Public Art Committee recently approved funding for the project and the next step, a call to artists, could occur within the next 30-45 days, according to MNAC Public Art Program Manager Sandra Duncan.

"It would be work that might be integrated into the design of the Public Square," she said.

"It is so early that I am a little bit hesitant to even talk about it much, but just in our dreams right now, we are envisioning this as three different artists."

The MNAC is still reeling with momentum from its July 21 unveiling of "Ghost Ballet for the East Bank Machineworks," a 100-foot by 100-foot sculpture from nationally recognized artist Alice Aycock that is slated for the Cumberland River's East Bank in early 2007.

Duncan is concentrating on the specifics of that East Bank project, which requires contracts and other technical documents typically associated with major building projects.

Not far behind, however, is the Public Square, which will be the city's second public art project since the "Percent for the Arts" program was proposed by Mayor Bill Purcell and approved by Metro Council in 2000.

Public art is funded locally through 1 percent of general obligation bond sales for new Metro building projects and significant renovations.

A public gathering area to replace the courthouse parking lot is part of a larger, ongoing project to renovate the historic courthouse and construct a 1,440-space underground parking garage.

"There is some possibility that these will actually happen at about the same time," Duncan said of "Ghost Ballet" and the Public Square project.

"It is really hard to judge because you never know what you are going to run into or how the timelines are going to work."

Nashvillians used to gather in a town square surrounding the courthouse to buy meats and vegetables, shop, go to the nearby banks and attend to business matters until the mid-1930s, according to Metro Archives, although Purcell's vision of a town center with green space is closer to 150 years old.

The Public Square will be the city's equivalent of its nearby state civic space, the Bicentennial Mall - a place for people to gather on important occasions for speeches, music and holiday celebrations or even just to read a book.

Amenities for the square, including art, will be included in the last layer of things that bring it back to life.

"It could be integrated into the seating area, integrated into the water feature, integrated into various things," MNAC Executive Director Norree Boyd said.

The process for selecting the Public Square artists will be the same as the East Bank project, Boyd said.

Aycock's design was chosen from a group of 155 candidates who submitted a total of more than 3,000 slides.

The six semi-finalists selected to develop a model/concept of their proposed artwork were given a copy of the Plan of Nashville, a walking tour of the site and an extensive history of the area to consider in creating their proposals.

"It was really exemplary, I'm not just saying that," Aycock said of the public art process in Nashville.

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