Portland Public Art Committee Announces Selection Panel for Congress Square Public Art Installation

Portland, Maine - For several years the Portland Public Art Committee has been planning to acquire and install a significant piece of public art in Congress Square, the heart of the arts district.  With the ongoing efforts by KMDG design team and the Congress Square Redesign Study Group, the next step in its plan begins.

Lin Lisberger, Chair of the Public Art Committee said, "We are excited to initiate this major new project in association with the redesign of Congress Square, as stated in our current Annual Plan."

In keeping with the process outlined in the PPAC Guidelines for selecting Artwork and Artists, the Public Art Committee has established a Selection Panel from several interested parties to begin the Public Art initiative for this site.  The members of this panel are:

Anne Buckwalter, Neighborhood Member, Artist, Communication Manager Space Gallery
Alison Hildreth, Portland Public Art Committee, Artist
Pandora LaCasse, Portland Public Art Committee, Artist
Jessica May, Curator of Contemporary Art, Portland Museum of Art
Anthony Muench, Portland Public Art Committee, Landscape Architect
Scott Simons, AIA, Principal Scott Simons Architects
Frank Turek, President Friends of Congress Sq., artist/musician
Bruce Wennerstrom ,General Manager Westin Hotel
KMDG/Utile, Design Consultants for Congress Square, one representative
 About the Congress Square Redesign

In August and September of 2013, the Planning Division, working with members from the Congress Square Redesign Study Group and Friends of Congress Square Park, held a Visioning Process to capture insights and input about the future vision of this important intersection.  The results from that process along with the vision statement, and additional resources about Congress Square can be found at http://www.portlandmaine.gov/1113/Congress-Square-Redesign.

The design team of Klopfer Martin Design Group (KMDG), a landscape architecture firm in Boston, was selected in December, 2013 as the design team for the Congress Square Redesign Study Group.  The project team includes members from KMDG and Utile, Inc. for urban design, and Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates for civil and traffic engineering.  The design team is working with many different groups in designing the square including the community, the Congress Square Redesign Study Group, the Portland Public Art Committee, traffic engineers for the State and High study, and neighboring businesses and institutions.  The project will also undergo review through the Historic Preservation Board and the Planning Board.

The Congress Square Redesign Study Group held its most recent working group meeting on April 22 to review KMDG’s findings of its initial assessment and to discuss design directions going forward.