Members of the One Columbia Public Art Selection Committee, comprised of arts professionals, educators and members of the community, are Michaela Pilar Brown, Fred Delk, Alejandro Garcia-Lemos, Tyrone Geter, Lynn Robertson, Henry Roe, and Tom Savory. In addition, a representative of the donor will also sit on the committee during the selection process.
The Public Art Selection Committee will jury submissions in the registry of artists and invite 4-5 artists to submit proposals for available public art projects on Main Street. The purpose of the public art program is to commission works of public art that reflect our society, add meaning and uniqueness to our communities, and invigorate public spaces.
Public art is one of the initiatives adopted by One Columbia for Arts and History during the current fiscal year. One Columbia’s role in relation to public art is to connect all public and private parties interested in furthering public art in Columbia in a manner that builds a sustainable and growing body of public art. Existing public art may be found in the Directory of Public Art co-created by One Columbia for Arts and History and the Richland-Lexington Cultural Council.
Biographies
Michaela Pilar Brown studied sculpture and art history at Howard University, now makes her home in Columbia. Born in Bangor, Maine and raised in Denver, Colorado, her current art practice focuses on cultural hierarchies relating to beauty, and how race and history play into these caste systems. She has had artist residencies at the McColl Center in Charlotte, NC and the Vermont Studio Center.
Fred Delk has served as the Executive Director of the Columbia Development Corporation for the past 15 years. Under Delk’s leadership the CDC has been a prominent force for economic development in Columbia through public-private partnerships and business development. He has worked with a wide range of projects, from Governor’s Hill to Vista Commons Apartments, the new Publix Grocery Store and the renovation of 701 Whaley Street.
Alejandro García-Lemos is a Colombian-American visual artist who has served on the Board of Directors of SC Hispanic Outreach, and was cofounder of the Coalition for New South Carolinians. He is also a Certified Court Interpreter and general manager of Comunicar Spanish Language services. He attended the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture Leadership Institute, and is the founder and former Executive Director of Palmetto & LUNA.
Tyrone Geter, a native of Alabama, is a prolific visual artist as well as an Associate Professor and Director of the Ponder Fine Arts Gallery at Benedict College, Columbia, SC. Geter has completed several large public murals including one for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati. The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center recently commissioned the artist to create a mural celebrating the 1930s Columbia nightclub dance craze “The Big Apple”.
Lynn Robertson is the former Executive Director of the University of South Carolina’s McKissick Museum. A 2010 recipient of the Governor’s Awards in Humanities, Robertson has actively been involved as a consultant on major state cultural projects, including the Penn Center and National Heritage Corridor, and has been a field reviewer for both the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She has directed and taught in the USC’s Museum Management Program.
Henry Roe is a Senior Broker in the Columbia, SC office of Colliers International. Roe is the Commercial Representative of the Development Community on the Richland County Roundtable. He currently sits on the Columbia City Center Partnership (CCP) Five Year Strategic Planning Committee and the Historic Columbia Foundation Advisory. He chairs the Columbia CCP Main Street Public Art Initiative, is a past Facilities and Development Advisory Committee Member of the Columbia YMCA, and is past Chair of the Development Committee of the Palmetto Hospital Health Foundation Hospice Board.
Thomas M. Savory is a principal architect with the Columbia architectural firm Watson, Tate, Savory. Prior to returning to South Carolina in 1996, Savory lived in New York City where he was an associate with Richard Meier & Partners. He has taught architecture at Clemson University, served as a studio critic at UNC Charlotte and has served on numerous design awards juries. He founded the Columbia Design League in 1997 with his wife, Adrienne Montare, AIA, LEED AP.