7.17.2008

Museum of Art in Festival Park

We have the FACTS and we’re voting YES to Festival Park.


1. In August of 2007 the City Council unanimously approved giving the parcel of land to the Museum in Festival Park when it realized that the Museum could absorb costs of building Festival Park by including parking, shelter, and sculpture gardens. These items were originally intended to take up space in the Park.

2. At that same meeting, the City Council voted in a split 6-3 vote to approve the 9 story design by architect Enrique Norten.

3. The Museum intends for building to be financed by private donors, just like the current building.

4. The building leaves a very small footprint on the park-- only 3,150 square feet. The original design of the building would have taken a space of 15,000 feet. One can see that though the original building was smaller, the new design takes up less space.

5. The building’s $15 million price tag includes a $3 million endowment fund for the Museum’s sustainability, so the Museum will NOT rely on the public’s tax paying dollars.


What the New Museum brings to Festival Park:

1. A world-renowned architect whose selection for the Leonardo da Vinci award and the next Guggenheim project speaks to his visionary status.

2. Scores of people from across the United States and around the world will come to visit this architectural work of art. A World Class building right here in Fayetteville.

3. The design of the suspended gallery is such that it acts as a giant carport for Festival Park. Festival Park patrons will now have relief from the elements that they currently do not.

4. The ability for the Museum to extend its mission to a larger audience currently untapped.

5. Restaurants, a café, a water feature—all items that the public requested and architect Enrique Norten gave.

6. An ICON and LANDMARK—an enriched culture to Fayetteville.
JOIN US IN SUPPORT OF A BETTER FAYETTEVILLE!
VOTE AT www.fayobserver.com for FESTIVAL PARK!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

As of 9:18pm the results on the Fayetteville Observer poll are

Where should the new Fayetteville Museum of Art be located?

Closer to the proposed traffic circle : 7.5%
Festival Park : 20.0%
Former Days Inn hotel on Bragg Blvd. : 66.9%
Rowan Park : 5.6%
Total Votes Cast: 1881

Note 80% of the folks (1505) want the museum to go somewhere else.

We are not a "small contingent of naysayers". Everyone I talk to wants a museum dowtown, just not in the park.

Please take our concerns seriously and modify your plans so that the community can get behind them.

Fayetteville Museum of Art said...

Dave,

We respect your opinion and the publics, and take them very seriously. We also respect the numbers garnered from the public opinion poll. However, some of those votes may have been made without understanding all of the facts. This is the nature of such a poll. From reading blogs regarding the Festival Park location on the Fayetteville Observer's website, there are facts being misrepresented or left out altogether. We feel it is our duty, just as it seems you do, to inform the public so they can make a fully informed decision. We truly want the best place downtown for the new Museum of Art. We appreciate the time you've taken to respond to our blog and your concern for the greater community good.
As moderator of this blog, I cannot speak on behalf of the Museum of Art, but only of myself. I too have spoken with people about where they would like to see the new Museum of Art. Not only did most of them not have an opinion on the Museum's placement, many did not even know Fayetteville had a Museum of Art! Secondly, they did not oppose to Festival Park. It seemed to me that they just want to see a world class museum in Fayetteville, preferably visible, and downtown.

Anonymous said...

Your marketing of the Festival Park building is misleading and dishonest. You state the footprint is only the square footage of the tower and omit the supported second floor that looms over the earth on each side supported by columns that extend the footprint to triple that. You then omit that the room for sculpture and water feature, and parking added in eats up nearly 40% of the existing park.
Get real.
Get honest.
Tell it like it is!

Anonymous said...

Why don't you publish the aerial drawings that Ted Mohn has made avaiable that show your planned building eats up most of thw wonderful green area opposite Festival Park's stage?
Afraid of public reaction?
You should be.

http://hometown.aol.com/tmohn/images/moafootprint.jpg

I want a better museum for our community, but won't support one here! Why not in the trees, next to Ray, south of the walkway?
No money from this family for this project. Sorry.