Robyne Robinson
Public Art Coordinator
City of Carlsbad
When I mention that I am a Public Art Coordinator, people usually just nod. Most only have a fuzzy idea of what that means. Public art is hard to define. For some, it’s Shakespeare in the Park or an explosion of colorful murals on city buildings. The truth is: Public art today has no boundaries. It can be whatever we design, compose or perform. Most important, public art is all about the concept of “emotional equity.” It’s the attachment to spaces that give us comfort, safety and belonging such as the pride in pointing out “our church” or “my school.” Emotional equity is the process of creating art in spaces that we connect with daily.
Public art is also about commerce. Did you know art brings in more than $300 million dollars a year for the State of California? The arts are an essential lifeblood in our community, reflecting its evolution. For that to happen, we strive to create new works that draw people to experience Carlsbad through its art which conveys the city’s varied traditions and stories, celebrating what makes it distinctive. Inviting diverse voices to join in the dialogue about public art reflects who we are as a community.
Carlsbad’s best example of contemporary public art is artist Roger Stoller’s Coastal Helix, the centerpiece for the Carlsbad Boulevard and State Street roundabout. It’s a successful commissioned work which is redefining the look of public art and notion of beauty in Carlsbad. The swirling bands of animated aluminum feel like the curl of a wave with a design that tells the story of native flora and sea life. It reminds us why we live here, how we interact with each other and the environment and why visitors are drawn to Carlsbad.
The Coastal Helix is a great model for building Carlsbad’s public art identity with new projects on the horizon. We have an energetic collaboration with our city colleagues in the Fire and Public Works Departments to bring an exciting public art installation as part of Fire Station #2 remodel. Cultural Arts is embedding an artist to bring a unique perspective to the design team for Veterans Memorial Park. Finally, get ready for an expansion of the Carlsbad Beach Chair Project when brilliantly-painted Beach Chairs pop up throughout the city in the years to come.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a widespread impact on our economy and our community. So many visual and performing artists lost income when galleries, museums and arts centers closed their doors.
Cultural Arts is asking the question: What can we do to get artists working again? Creating new public art is one answer to the question. Providing artists with a forum to bring their creative ideas to expand Carlsbad’s aesthetic identity is why I’m looking forward to sharing in this new legacy.
Editor’s Note: Robyne Robinson joined the City of Carlsbad as its first full-time public art coordinator earlier this year. As the former director of Arts @ MSP, Robyne developed arts and culture programming at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. She is an Emmy-winning news broadcaster in the Twin Cities, known as the first African-American prime time anchor in Minnesota and a groundbreaking honoree in the Minnesota’s Broadcasting Hall of Fame.