Seven new displays of public and interactive art will be installed at the Glass City Center as part of the ongoing renovation of the former SeaGate Convention Centre.
At a press conference Thursday morning, members of the Lucas County Commissioners, the Arts Commission, and various special guests unveiled the plans and renderings for the new art installations, which are anticipated to be complete by late August.
“The artists who were chosen for these projects were local, national, and international artists, and they also had to make sure that we produced art that represented all walks of life in our community,” said Lucas County Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak. “When you invest this kind of money and this investment and this type of arts program into your community, you can tell that we are a people that mean business.”
Mrs. Wozniak said that while she didn’t have official confirmation, it was believed that the announced public art displays at the Glass City Center could be the largest art investment in a convention center or public building across the country. “We think for a city of our size, it’s fair to say we’ve hit this high mark, and we’re very fortunate to have done that.”
Lucas County spokesman Mark Reiter said after the press conference that the artwork budget for the Glass City Center was budgeted for up to $1.5 million.
“This is a moment of celebration for our community,” said Lucas County Commissioners president Gary Byers. “We celebrate not only art but our local art community as well.”
Husband and wife artist team Rachel Richardson and Yusuf Lateef spoke about the piece of art they designed with artist Pete Goldlust, a multimedia mix of glass, photography, murals, and portraiture honoring the musicians and clubs that made Toledo’s jazz scene world renown.
“I’m bursting with excitement that we get to honor jazz in Toledo,” said Ms. Richardson, who listed the names of several Toledo jazz luminaries that would be remembered with the exhibit, including Jon Hendricks, Leon Cook, Claude Black, Clifford Murphy, and Rusty Monroe.
The Commission introduced longtime arts advocate Susan Reams, who described and displayed the artistic renderings of the seven new projects, which range from a 100-foot river shaped ceiling installation designed by artist Jessica Wolf to artist Cable Griffith’s Illuminated Vistas project, featuring six illuminated prints housed in a 4 x 8-foot lightboxes.
Ms. Reams was the architect of Toledo's One Percent for Art program, which, since 1977, has set aside 1 percent of all city money appropriated for municipal construction to be used for public artwork. The result is dozens of statues, arches, fountains, murals, and other pieces throughout the city. For nearly 30 years, she was chairman of the one-percent committee, overseen by the Arts Commission, and is a founding member and Honorary Chair of Art in Public Places.
“We have a story to tell in this city and we’re going to tell it,” Ms. Reams said.
First Published March 31, 2022, 6:49 p.m.
