In the spring of 2017, the City of Auburn started the process of selecting and commissioning an artist to create an “Iconic Public Artwork” for the new park area of Les Gove Park that fronts Auburn Way South. The budget for this public art project is $125,000 and is part of the CIP budget, inclusive of design, fabrication, installation, travel and WA sales tax.

An Iconic Public Art Sub-Committee was convened that included individuals from the Arts Commission and Park Board, as well as the White River Valley Museum Director and a member of the landscape architect firm, The Berger Partnership. Staff from the Parks, Arts & Recreation Department and the Community Development & Public Works Department provided guidance to the sub-committee. The sub-committee determined the goals and required qualifications to include in the call to artists and the outlined the initial selection process. The call to artists was created and promoted in partnership with 4Culture, seeking applications from artists in Washington and Oregon with a submission deadline of May 24, 2017. There were 34 artist or artist group applications received from the call. After thorough review and evaluation by the sub-committee, two finalists were selected to write proposals and present to the sub-committee on June 29, 2017.

Of the two artists, Peter Reiquam was selected by the Iconic Public Art Sub-Committee and after a second presentation of three concept designs on July 27, the sub-committee approved a design and forward their recommendation onto the Arts Commission for consideration. The Arts Commission reviewed the design on August 8, 2017 and voted to move the design forward. However, after receiving feedback from the Arts Commission following their August meeting, the design was discussed further at the Arts Commission meeting in September. Due to mixed feelings on the design, the Arts Commission voted again to bring the design back to the sub-committee, and recommended further concept sketches from the artist that might suit the site of Les Gove Park better. On November 8, Reiquam presented another round of eight rough concept sketches to the sub-committee. The Iconic Public Art Sub-Committee voted to forward their recommendation of Reiquam’s “Crow With Fries” design on to the Arts Commission for review at the December 2017 Arts Commission meeting. The Arts Commission voted to approve the design at their December 2017 meeting and asked for the design to be forwarded on to the Auburn City Council for final consideration.