MPD, City Shops Art Chosen to Advance to City Council

MOSCOW – Memorial art for the Moscow Police Department (MPD) and the public art mural for the City Shops wall were selected by the Moscow Arts Commission at its regular meeting Tuesday. City staff will work with the artists on final designs to present to the City Council. 

Funding for the projects comes from the city’s “1 percent for the arts” program, established by ordinance in 2004, that allocates one percent of capital project funds for public art by local and regional artists, guided by the Moscow Arts Commission.

The commission also chose two artists’ works to go on stormwater drain stands and set the schedule for the city’s Third Street Gallery shows through 2027. The gallery is in City Hall, 206 E. Third St.

Art presented by Ken McCall, with some alteration, was chosen for the exterior sculpture at MPD. A few public comments took issue with the wings in the design – some saying they were too religious and others that they were reminiscent of Lord of the Rings or the Hunger Games. 

The commission discussed replacing the wings with a flame, but instead voted to recommend the design with changes suggested by Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger: make the wings smaller and less overshadowing and move them to the sides of the sculpture.

The art recognizes the valor, service and sacrifice of police officers. It is planned to be installed in April 2027, in time for the 20^th anniversary of the May 2007 shooting death of Officer Lee Newbill as he was coming to the aid of deputies and dispatchers who were under fire at the Latah County Sheriff’s Office.

The commission voted to recommend Taylor Shaw’s design for the City Shops wall, with a suggestion to remove some of the heavy machinery in favor of more people and parks-related subjects. 

It was noted that this design is preferred by staff who work at the shop, while the concept presented by Sasha Primo seemed preferred in comments submitted by the public. The selection committee tied on these two artists, so the commission made the final choice. 

In other business:

* Designs by two artists were chosen from eight submitted for storm drain murals. The commission voted to recommend works by Julene Ewert and Ashley Isenberger, noting their readability and potential to increase the public’s awareness of the stormwater system.

* The Third Street Gallery schedule was approved through 2027. Learn more about the gallery at https://www.ci.moscow.id.us/230/Third-Street-Gallery.

* Staff reported on artist opportunities, events, and requests for public participation, which can be found at https://www.ci.moscow.id.us/m/newsflash?cat=33. 

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Moscow Arts Commission will be July 14.