CMA 2016 #314 · Agenda item attachment · Nov 7 2016

Memorandum To: Lisa C. Peterson, Acting City Manager From: Jason Weeks, Executive Director CC: Rika Smith McNally, Director of Art Conservation Date: 11/1/2016 Re: City Council Policy Order Awaiting Report #16-69 I am writing to follow-up and provide further details on City Council Policy Order Awaiting Report #16-69, which states the following: Report on the necessary resources needed to survey, plan and restore the Cambridge mural at Rindge Field. Following receipt of the Policy Order, I requested that Rika Smith McNally, Director of Art Conservation for the Arts Council, conduct a thorough review of the existing artwork and develop a detailed Condition & Recommendations Report highlighting what can be done to either save or re-paint the mural in question. I have attached a copy of that completed report along with this communication. In addition, I have located contact information for two of the original three muralists and Rika has conducted outreach to determine their level of interest and availability to have involvement in the work required. Given that the mural was created as part of an Eagle Scout project and the artist team were teenagers at the time of the original painting, the two individuals we reached out to have either moved or are currently attending college outside of Massachusetts. We will follow-through on this outreach and work to determine both their potential involvement and/or whether it will be necessary to secure a project manager for the existing artist team or a new artist to manage the work. That information and subsequent decisions will allow us to arrive at an estimated cost to fully re-create, protect and secure the mural.

November 1, 2016 2 Importantly, the work recommended and that may occur will be done in partnership with the Arts Council and, in particular, our Art Conservation professional team. This will allow a better opportunity to develop the work using materials and techniques that are recommended by public art programs nationally and, in particular, Rescue Public Murals, a national non-profit that is dedicated to the preservations of murals throughout the United States. As soon as we have feedback from our outreach, I will follow back up with more specific information about the costs of carrying out this work.