Workshop to Focus on Copper Curtain

The fate of the copper curtain, the oft-ridiculed public artwork on the side of the Civic Arts Plaza, will be the subject of an intensive workshop featuring city leaders, regional artists and the public.

The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to allow the city’s Arts Commission to continue discussing alterations to the enigmatic collection of 2,000 copper strips. Arts commissioners voted unanimously last month to hold a workshop, but the idea needed council approval, and commissioners wanted to make sure they were not wasting their time by continuing to discuss the issue.

“It was a major victory for the Arts Commission, because they resolved that we deal with it,” said Commissioner Jane Brooks.

The workshop, which will likely take place next month, will include input from the Alliance for the Arts, which is the building’s nonprofit fund-raising arm, and the Civic Arts Plaza Board of Governors. There will also be representatives from the city manager’s office and the City Council, as well as artists who have proposed ways to enhance the curtain.

“I think it’s very positive that we’re going to get everyone together once and for all,” said Commissioner Bonnie Roth. “Hopefully, a positive decision will come out of this workshop.”

City Atty. Mark Sellers contends that the copper curtain is the city’s property and is not a sculpture, but an architectural feature. The artwork was designed by Antoine Predock, the architect of the Civic Arts Plaza, though his initial concept was altered. Commissioners hope Predock will attend the workshop.

Some commissioners questioned Sellers’ assessment of the copper curtain, arguing that the artist should at least be a part of the discussion on any proposed changes.

Mayor Judy Lazar disagreed Tuesday, saying that the curtain was unequivocally city property, and strictly a city matter.