Arts Update: Pierce County Art Bank 2008 Selection Jury
by Chris Van Vechten
Upward Spiral by Jeremy Managan
On November 19, 2008, I joined fellow Arts Commissioner Bonnie Egbert along with: Margaret Bullock – Curator of Collections and Special Exhibitions at the Tacoma Arts Museum; Jennifer Olson-Rudenko – Gallery Coordinator at TCC/Pierce College and Elise Richman – Assistant Professor at the University of Puget Sound; in serving on the Pierce County Art Bank 2008 Selection Jury. The purpose of this jury was to identify quality artworks for purchase by the county to be displayed in buildings occupied by Pierce County government offices. The county allocated some $15,000 dollars for purchasing “original artworks from Pierce County artists.” Our job as jury was to sift through the more than 300 submitted pieces by approximately 41 Pierce County artists to identify the most appropriate pieces for purchase and display.
We were not allowed to know the sticker price of the pieces submitted and as far as I know our role was purely as advisers to the County Council who can – and has in the past – overrule the Commission’s opinion.
Ultimately the jury identified 20 pieces that they liked best, ranking work by: Jeremy Managan, James A Porter, Bill Colby and Fumiko Kimura in the highest tier of its selection.
