Council OKs plan to remove, demolish artwork as part of convention center rebuild

Four large murals and art installations from local artists will be removed from the Austin Convention Center and destroyed ahead of the facility’s forthcoming demolition and reconstruction, despite calls from the artists and supporters to find a way to preserve the works.

At Thursday’s meeting, City Council approved a plan for the deaccession of eight pieces of art created under the city’s Art In Public Places program, including the four pieces at the convention center that have sparked debate over the handling of the $1.6 billion project. Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes was the only vote against the resolution, which was approved on consent.

Of particular concern for arts advocates is the “Riffs and Rhythms” mosaic by artist John Yancey. The large mosaic was created as part of a wall at the convention center, and is estimated to weigh between 3 and 4 tons. The estimated cost to preserve the piece is $70,000 that Yancey would need to raise, with additional funds needed to relocate and store it elsewhere.

Yancey, who at one time helped to oversee the Art In Public Places program, spoke during public comment about the need to pause the proposed demolition of the piece as part of the teardown of the convention center that is slated to begin this spring after the South by Southwest conference.

“I urgently request that you pause deaccession because the current policy is obsolete and not applicable to current realities. It states in the case of deaccession, the artist can reclaim the work at his or her expense for the major monumental works in Austin’s public art collection. This policy is unrealistic and unreasonable,” he said.

Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison said the deaccession debate is similar to the outcry in 2017 that occurred after a popular mural at the corner of 12th and Chicon streets was painted over by a property owner with no discussion with the surrounding community. Harper-Madison asked city staff to include plans for removal and preservation of public art into the AIPP program.

“Oftentimes what happens with public art pieces is that they change, communities change, artists change, new artists get opportunities. But there wasn’t a process in place where folks could come and take pictures in front of it,” she said. “I want to make certain that we have a process in place and something by way of protocol that makes it so that moving forward, we don’t lose things because we didn’t preempt the potential for it needing to be moved.”

Jaime Castillo, manager of AIPP, said staffers in the Cultural Arts Division are having discussions about building in plans and considerations for the removal of future AIPP works, while also looking at what currently installed pieces could require special attention in the future when the facilities they are located in undergo expansion or demolition.

Anthony Segura, interim director of the Economic Development Department, said when attention turned last year to the potential destruction of the large pieces in the convention center, it became apparent quickly that there were few options for their preservation.

“The unfortunate situation with the convention center simply was because the mosaic pieces were so large that we tried to see what we could do to salvage the artwork itself,” he said. “We even went as far as having three different companies look at it, and each one of them said ‘we can’t touch it, it’s too big, and it won’t be the same even if you were to try to salvage it.’ So we tried to do our due diligence, and we recognize that art is absolutely essential to the city. So I want to assure you that it was our best interest to do what we can, but unfortunately, it’s just too big for anybody to do.”

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