The development of Civic Park is now underway andthere will be several opportunities for community members to be involved in the creation of an art element for the park — including a virtual meeting Thursday, Sept. 23.

The new park design by Walker Macy includes the siting of a welcoming, signature artwork near the primary entry point to the park on 6th Avenue North.

Facilitated through the City of Edmonds Arts Commission, the artwork budget is $90,000 and professional artists residing in the Pacific Northwest region were invited to submit their qualifications for the initial application process as approved by the city council.

In April 2020, the public art selection panel reviewed applications and selected five artists to be interviewed. The interviews were delayed while the project was rebid and are now scheduled for Sept. 23.

As with all major public art selection processes, the public is given opportunities to participate directly, in addition to being represented by the arts commission and the selection panel.

The public is invited to hear the interviews presented in a Zoom webinar from 4-8 p.m. Sept. 23. Each of the five artists/artist teams will make a presentation about their overall qualifications for the work, followed by a few minutes for questions from the selection panel. Artists are not presenting specific design concepts for the park at this time but will address their overall interest in the project and qualifications.

You can attend the webinar at this newly updated link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81271163929?pwd=YVJyeUx5VWtYRmZRQWhFQkhKK1JtQT09 Passcode:123134

The arts commission encourages interested community members to listen to the artist interviews and submit written comments through the Webinar Q&A or via email to eac@edmondswa.gov. All public comments received by noon on the following day will be reviewed by the selection panel before they make a recommendation to the arts commission about the artist selected to create a welcoming feature for the new park. The arts commission will then recommend the artist to the city council, which will review their qualifications during an advertised public hearing before the contract is approved.

Next, the selected artist will work with the park designers and the community to develop concepts for artwork, which will be presented at a public meeting and the final design will be approved with a public hearing at city council in early 2022.

For more information, email eac@edmondswa.gov.