The city is asking residents to help choose from among three sculpture proposals — one in wood, one in a leaf-like steel, and one in concrete — for the new Southwest Berkeley being built between Ward and Blake streets.
You can fill out a survey about the proposals until Aug. 24.
Each proposal includes a pair of sculptures, to be placed at either end of the four-block park and would double as dwelling space for both native and migratory birds as well as “non-stinging insects.” The cost of the sculptures is not to exceed $150,000, which comes from Berkeley’s Percent for Art Program, the city says. That includes the artist’s design fee, environmental research, engineering, fabrication, transportation, and installation.
Residents are being asked to rate the proposed artworks on their capacity to provide shelter and nesting for birds and pollinators, lend habitat awareness and create “bold” and “visually striking landmarks.” Residents’ feedback will guide the selection process but won’t be the final deciding factor, said Carianna Arredondo, secretary for the city’s Civic Arts Commission.
The public feedback will be assessed by a group comprising city commissioners, architects, environmentalists and community members, which chose the three proposals from a pool of 72 art submissions. The commission will make its final pick and propose it to the Civic Arts Commission, which will select the final artwork.
Berkeley aims to unveil the installed artwork during the Berkeley Bird Festival in fall 2027, around when the new park is expected to open.
Rising on a long-neglected and overgrown portion of the former Santa Fe railroad right-of-way, the $9 million park will consist of community gardens, a playground and a dog park. The first phase includes digging up and removing contaminants like arsenic from the soil before construction begins in late fall.
Take a look at the three proposed sculpture pairs:
Artist: Adrien Segal
Credit: City of Berkeley
Murmur Nest is a pair of wood sculptures with multiple nestings and perches inspired by the “motion of flight of birds and insects.” Read more.
Artists: Jennifer Parker and Anja Ulfeldt
Credit: City of Berkeley
Inspired by the Santa Fe railroad and the work of renowned architect Julia Morgan, the Berkeley Watershed sculptures create habitat totems for birds and insects. Read more.
Artists: Tsēmā and Jonathan Igharas
Credit: City of Berkeley
The stems connecting the leaf-like steel of Kindred Oak are made from reclaimed train tracks, reminding residents Southwest Berkeley was an oak forest before the railroad came through. Read more.
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