Some Sac-Area Artists Ineligible For Arena Art Consideration

This week, some artists in the greater Sacramento region had discovered their zip codes prevented their portfolios from being considered for art projects at the downtown arena.  

Most artists who live along the Interstate 80 corridor between the Nevada State Line and San Francisco were eligible for consideration. But, artists who live in Napa, Nevada, Yuba and Stanislaus Counties were not.

Solomon Bassoff is a sculptor from Nevada County who works primarily in steel and concrete. He wasn't eligible because of his home address, not because of his qualifications.

"I've done bigger. I've done well, let's see, the dinosaur for Oklahoma was about 13-foot long, eight-foot tall, I'm working on a piece now for Washington D.C. It's a painted turtle that's about six-foot wide, ten-foot long."

The million dollar donation to fund some of the art projects at the arena came from Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Council (SMAC) member Marci Friedman. The donation came with a list of eligible counties. With no explanation, the list excluded Napa, Nevada, and Yuba counties.

Friedman made the donation on the condition SMAC and the City Council approved spending $9 million on a metallic sculpture by New York artist Jeff Coons.

The arts council's executive director and its public arts director is Shelly Willis. She asked Friedman to amend the list to include those Napa, Nevada, and Yuba Counties.

The change was made Wednesday afternoon.

The deadline to submit qualifications in July 6, 2015.

Artists from Stanislaus County will still be excluded.

Artists from Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Sutter, Yolo, Amador,
Calaveras, San Joaquin, Contra Costa, Solano, Butte, Alameda, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Yuba, Nevada, Napa, and Sonoma counties will now be considered.