PUBLIC ART – $350,000 commission offered for Bruce’s Beach art
by Mark McDermott
The Manhattan Beach City Council on Tuesday night issued a request for proposals for what will become the City’s most significant public art undertaking so far, a $350,000 commission for Bruce’s Beach park that tells the story of what occurred there.
The proposal originally called for a timeline that would result in the installation of art at Bruce’s Beach by the end of 2025. But Mayor Steve Napolitano interrupted the staff presentation, given by Eilen Stewert, the City’s cultural arts manager, when she referenced this timeline.
“2025?” he said. “It seems like a long time away.”
Stewart said that depending on the complexity of the project that is selected, the art could be completed sooner, or later. But she noted that the site itself poses challenges.
“This is a very large project and it’s a very difficult project for many reasons,” she said. “It’s also a very difficult site…For example, most likely they’ll have to do a geological study because the site is a sand dune.”
“It should be done by the end of the term of this council,” Napolitano said. “So December 2024.”
“We’ll shoot for it, and keep that in mind when we’re selecting the artwork,” Stewart said. “And we can communicate that to the artists, as well, so that is part of their parameters.”
The largest issue of contention among council members was whether or not the RFP should seek only California artists, with particular priority given to locals, or be open to artists nationwide. Councilmembers Joe Franklin and Richard Montgomery argued that the commission should be for an artist based in California.
“It’s hard for me to believe that you cannot find an artist within the state of California,” Montgomery said.
Councilmembers Amy Howorth and David Lesser argued that throwing the net out across the nation would give the best chance for great art to be produced.
“What if Maya Lin is interested in applying?” said Howorth, referencing the sculptor and designer most famous for the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. “There are a lot of national artists. This is a very big park and monument of importance to some people…So that is something I absolutely will not approve of, limiting how we look for artists. Some of our local artists may rise, and be one of those semi-finalists, but let’s not limit ourselves.”
Howorth made a motion to accept the parameters of the RFP, which were developed by the City’s Art in Public Places Committee (APPC), comprised of four members of the former Bruce’s Beach Task Force, two Cultural Arts Commissioners, and two councilmembers.
Napolitano broke the tie regarding what artists should be eligible.
“If Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles, Southern California, have the artists do it, great. They’ll come to the forefront of it all,” he said. “It’s not about the artist. It’s about the artwork. The artwork will speak for itself, whoever the artist is, wherever they’re from.”
Under the RFP, the goals of the artwork are “to promote reflection, introspection, healing, and education surrounding the history of Bruce’s Beach.” The City has delved into that history since interest in it was sparked by the national Black Lives Matter movement, and a parallel, local movement called Justice for Bruce’s Beach.
In 1912, just months before the City of Manhattan Beach incorporated, a Black couple, Charles and Willa Bruce, established an oceanfront resort (along what is now 26th and 27th streets and The Strand) catering to the African American Angelino community. In 1929, the Bruces and the other families were forced from their properties through the City’s racially-motivated use of the power of eminent domain.
The proposed public art piece is open to artist interpretation, but the RFP does indicate it should not be too abstract. The art may also incorporate the City’s newly rewritten plaque, which is being installed on the top of the park near Highland Boulevard this Saturday.
“The City’s action at the time was racially motivated and wrong,” the plaque states. “Today, the City acknowledges, empathizes, and condemns those past actions. We are not the Manhattan Beach of one hundred years ago. We reject racism, hate, intolerance, and exclusion. This park is named in memory of Bruce’s Beach and in recognition of Manhattan Beach’s next one hundred years as a city of respect and inclusion.”
After the RFP has closed, the APPC will select 12 applicants and make recommendations to the Cultural Arts Commission. The CAC will narrow those 12 applicants to eight. The City Council will then select five semi-finalists, who will participate in a virtual town hall meeting to obtain public input. The semi-finalists will each prepare a preliminary model of their proposals. The APPC and CAC will separately review, interview, and rank the semi-finalists. The City Council will make the final selection.
The project’s cost will all be paid from the City’s Public Arts Fund. The fund currently has over $2 million derived from a 1 percent fee assessed on residential developments in the city and earmarked for public art.
“These are not taxpayer funds,” Napolitano said. ER