From 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Monday, September 13, the Salida Public Art Commission will host a meeting in the SteamPlant Event Center Ballroom. This community meeting is intended to give residents an opportunity to provide input regarding the vision for the evolution of the downtown skate park. For more than a year, the commission has been working on the creation of a public art project at First and G Street.
The committee listed the five following intentions for the project:
Site of the proposed Spirit of Salida project. Image by Brooke Gilmore
- Preserve Heritage— to include historic and cultural references to signify the past and inform modern “explorers”
- Landmark— to be iconic and “Instagrammable”; more than just a welcome sign
- Visually Inviting— something that connects the immediate area with surrounding vistas; a place to gather
- Beautiful and Durable –- a collection of visually interesting and interactive elements for all ages
- Year-round access— a celebration of all seasons through unique layers; an alternative programmable space
T.J. Hittle is the landscape architect that both the council and committee approved. Hittle will design and oversee the project as it is built.
“I am excited about this project. I’ve lived in Salida off and on since 2005 when I built a house in Chaffee County,” Hittle told Ark Valley Voice after the August 4 public art commission meeting.
“With that regard, what I’m excited about is to hear what the public has to say about the property and what its potentials might be. I just wanted to make sure that the committee knows and anybody that’s interested knows that I am a blank canvas at this point in time. So, I’m just going to let the public drive the project.”
The Public Art Commission along with Hittle will be present during the meeting to hear public input.
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