The Seattle Public Library board of trustees has selected Bainbridge Island artist Kristin Tollefson to design artwork for the renovation and expansion of the Magnolia Branch. The board made its unanimous decision at its May 23 meeting.
The seven-member Magnolia Branch Artist Advisory Panel recommended the emerging public artist for the job after interviewing three finalists. The panelists were impressed with Tollefson’s thoughtful approach to her past work.
The panel included the project architects from Snyder Hartung Kane Strauss Architects, a community member, and Library staff members.
Tollefson, who considers the history of the site and the surrounding community in developing her artwork, works with a variety of materials, including wire, metal and glass. She is inspired by organic forms, and frequently explores themes of transformation, accumulation, life systems and tension between grown and manufactured processes.
Tollefson earned a master’s degree of fine arts in metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., in 1992. She completed her first public art project, called “Waterlogs + Leaf/Hull,” for the Montlake Community Center in 2006.
The renovation and expansion of the Magnolia Branch is part of the $196.4 million “Libraries for All” bond measure, which vo ters approved in 1998. The bond money, which can be used only for construction of libraries, is funding new and improved branches, in addition to the new Central Library.
The existing 6,356-square-foot Magnolia Branch will expand by 1,443 square feet to include a new meeting room. The renovation work also includes replacing decayed structural wood and aging mechanical system components, upgrading technology services, equipment and ventilation, improving electrical, communication and computer connections, adding energy-efficient window glass, and updating the collection of books and materials.
To date, the Library has completed the new Central Library and the Ballard, Beacon Hill, Capitol Hill, Columbia, Delridge, Douglass-Truth, Fremont, Green Lake, Greenwood, High Point, International District/Chinatown, Lake City, Montlake, NewHolly, North East, Northgate, Rainier Beach, South Park, Southwest, Wallingford and West Seattle branches. Several other branches are in the construction phase.
The Seattle Public Library Foundation continues to raise funds from private sources to keep pace with the demands of patrons for the most comprehensive and dynamic library facilities and services. Every dollar raised by the Foundation will ensure a level of excellence in the Library’s facilities, collections, and programs that would not be possible through its tax-based support alone.
For more information, visit the Library’s Web site at www.spl.org.
(For more information, call Caroline Young Ullmann, assistant communications director, 206-615-1627.)
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Content modified: 31 May 2007
05/31/2007
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