STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Quality of Life
AGENDA DATE: May 12, 2021
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):|910|DEPARTMENT: Office of Arts and Culture
EXECUTIVE: Joey Zapata
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SUBJECT
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Authorize a contract with Allbritton Lee LLC for the fabrication and installation of a site-specific artwork at Martyr's Park located at 379 Commerce Street - Not to exceed $150,000.00 - Financing: DWU Public Art Fund
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BACKGROUND
By resolution in April 2018, City Council directed the creation of a working group to recommend the scope to contextualize the full history of Fair Park and memorialize the lynching of Allen Brooks. As previously communicated by memorandum in October 2019, the Working Group recognized that there are many victims of racial violence that need memorialization, and recommended Martyr's Park for this City of Dallas Memorial to Victims of Racial Violence.
The published scope of the Memorial to Victims of Racial Violence Project is to create a tribute to the memory of victims of lynching and racial violence in Dallas, with references to victims in Dallas between 1853-1920. The Public Art installation is expected to be visually accessible and durable. Artists reviewed the comments from community meetings about the project conducted in 2019-2020 and incorporated the input into the design proposal. The design by artists Shane Albritton and Norman Lee, in collaboration with poet Tim Seibles, were recommended for this public art project by the Selection Panel composed of community members, artists, and a representative from the Park and Recreation Department.
Artist Background
Artists Shane Allbritton and Norman Lee, co-founders of RE:site have completed 13 memorials in recent years, including the memorial of Botham Jean installed at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dallas. Their work explores the intersections of community, identity, and story-telling in public spaces. They focus on local history and events to cre...
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