PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The re-design of Penn's Landing is just beginning, and the public is being asked to get involved in choosing a public work of art for the project.
The public artwork will be part of the new 11.5 acre Park at Penn's Landing, scheduled to be completed in 2025.
An online survey lets people vote on their favorite public art project.
Originally, 158 artists submitted ideas for the Park at Penn's Landing. That list has been whittled down to 6.
Now, the city's Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy and the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation are asking the public to vote on the finalists.
"Every great public space should have access to arts at all levels, to make it accessible to the public, to enhance the creative economy, to create opportunities for artists," said Emma Fried-Cassorla, creative director for the Waterfront Corporation.
"With this new park, which really is going to be the centerpiece of what the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation has been working on so far, it needs to have this spectacular kind of iconic piece."
The survey is part of the City's Percent for Art Program, which guarantees a certain percentage of money on every public project for art.
"We have $700,000 that was set aside to create a work of art that will be unveiled when the new park is unveiled," Fried-Cassorla added.
The survey also allows the public to comment on each proposed art project. The deadline for public input is July 11th.
"After that, the artist actually will receive that community input, so that they can tweak their projects if necessary," she said.
"There is one that is sort of a fantastical sea creature which dives in and out of the park, and that's kind of a long tilted area. There are some that have been proposed for shade structure. There are others that are just standalone pieces at entrances."
An advisory panel will pick the winner in August.
