Mural subcommittee recommends Pullman town hall
Mar. 6—The Pullman City Council's Art Mural Subcommittee will recommend the council hold a community town hall to garner feedback from the public before moving ahead on a public art installation planned for a retaining wall on Spring Street between Main and Paradise streets.
In a special meeting Friday morning, the subcommittee said a town hall-style meeting with community members would allow them to gather public input, which they would then use to develop a public survey about expectations surrounding the proposed artwork. Results of that survey would ultimately inform a request for qualifications of artists interested in taking part in the project.
The subcommittee, made up of city councilors Dan Records, Pat Wright and Eileen Macoll, was formed to create objectives for the mural project and present them to the full Pullman City Council for approval.
The Pullman Arts Commission was originally in charge of the selection process, and after inviting public feedback recommended a mural with words "End Racism Now" and "Black Lives Matter" created by artist Jiemei Lin.
Confusion between the commission and the city council regarding the objective of the mural and how the selection process played out led the city council to restart the process.
Three Pullman Arts Commission members have resigned in recent weeks and Lin told the Daily News last week there was uncertainty over whether the city wanted the words "Black Lives Matter" on the mural.
The subcommittee has since suggested an artist paint a single panel affixed to the wall which could be the first of a series of panels that are added to the wall annually.
The project will be paid for by residual revenue dollars from the Pullman Arts Commision.
The subcommittee will make its recommendation to the city council at its meeting this Tuesday.
