With an eye toward St. Paul’s growing diversity, the Ramsey County Historical Society has put out a call for artists to help redecorate the city council chambers in St. Paul City Hall.

The goal of the project is to commission four two-dimensional pieces that can be enlarged, potentially, and reproduced in the council chambers at 15 W. Kellogg Blvd., covering the existing Depression-era art by John Norton on a temporary and rotating basis.

The chambers also serve as meeting rooms for the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners.

Artists must submit their qualifications, references, work samples and up to two pages of written explanation of their design concept online by Sept. 23.

The design competition follows years of debate over whether the existing City Hall wall art is a worthy ode to St. Paul’s roots as a port city or a demeaning insult to communities of color.

Norton, a Chicago muralist, completed the panels for City Hall as the structure opened in the early 1930s.

Native tribal members and other advocates have taken offense at Norton’s larger-than-life-size depictions of pioneering white explorers, religious leaders and laborers standing over blacks and Native Americans in more subservient roles.

The criticism garnered some pushback from Norton’s defenders, who say the muralist likely saw the works as an homage to the sacrifices of everyday workers, and his decision to include people of color at all was a departure for his era.

“The art itself is historic. It’s also problematic,” said Chad Roberts, president of the Ramsey County Historical Society. “It didn’t represent the community when it was created, but it did represent what people of the time thought was important. … Something new has to be done, and we agree with that.”

City council members once considered covering the panels, but reached a compromise with Ramsey County officials to create rotating panels that would serve as a contrast to the depicted scenes.

ROTATING ART PANELS

The chamber art project is seeking artists and artist-led teams to design new art measuring 18 inches across and 5 feet tall that can be scanned and enlarged, potentially, into giant panels to cover each of the four existing Norton wall displays, two at a time. The goal is to rotate them every six to 12 months.

Teams will receive $3,000 per panel for labor and materials, fees and transportation. The historical society envisions hiring four separate artists or artist-led teams.

A Council Chamber Art Task Force will review applications and select up to eight artists or artist teams as finalists. The finalists will present their proposals at in-person interviews, and four will be selected by Oct. 12 to complete artworks. The artwork must be finished by April 8, 2020.

Once completed, the artwork will be presented to the St. Paul City Council and Ramsey County board, and the council and board will make a joint decision as to whether the new artwork will be enlarged and installed.

Council member Rebecca Noecker, who met with county officials for 18 months to seek solutions, had expressed some frustration at the time about the slow progress.

“I understand we have to take the time to do it right, and do it in a way that reflects the many different feelings around these issues,” Noecker said Wednesday. “From my perspective, the council chambers are a place where the paramount concern should be making it a place where everyone feels welcome, and right now it does not feel that way. Related Articles St. Paul City Council approves $600,000 charge for downtown improvement district

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Public forums to discuss the project, provide feedback and meet the artists will be held Dec. 16 and Feb. 10, 2020.

Artists will not be responsible for framing or installation costs. Artists can make appointments to view the chambers from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 13 and from 3 to 7 p.m. Sept. 17.

For more information, visit rchs.com/news/courthouse-murals-call-for-artists.