Olympia City Council approves purchase of 2024 Percival Plinth Project People's Choice winner 

The Olympia City Council has expressed interest in purchasing not one, but two art pieces from the 2024 Percival Plinth Project, but the city's Parks, Arts, and Recreations Department warned that they have some budget constraints and limitations due to other projects they are undertaking.  

On Tuesday, the city council approved the Arts Commission's recommendations to purchase artist Karen Sixkiller's sculpture "Ember 2," which won the People's Choice Award.  

In July, the city hosted a month-long public voting period that saw 661 ballots cast. The voting was close, with "Ember 2" narrowly beating out the runner-up, "The Dungie" by Jennifer Strassel, by just three votes. 

At the Arts Commission meeting in August, Stephanie Johnson, the city's Arts Program manager, said the winner - Ember 2 - received 16.5% of the votes, while the runner-up – The Dungie - received 16.0% of the votes.  

"Voters of Ember 2 appreciated the importance of respecting and recognizing everyone in our community, the composition of the sculpture, and the origin of the story of bringing light," Arts Commission Chair Kathy Dorgan said in presenting this year's People's Choice winner.  

Although the city council unanimously approved the recommendation, Councilmembers Jim Cooper and Lisa Parshley expressed an interest in acquiring "The Dungie" as well.  

Jessica Strassel's The Dungie came in second place.

"When you see voting like that, you wish you had something for the runner-up," Parshley said, adding that three votes is not a big difference.  

Cooper inquired if the city could purchase both sculptures.  

In response, Parks Director Paul Simmons explained that the city's municipal art fund, which is used for these types of purchases, had allocated a significant portion of its resources to the development of a new welcome figure for the city's waterfront. He added that the city has been saving funds in the arts budget to support some upcoming gateway projects. "We are not quite at the level of resources we need yet for those initiatives." 

Given these existing commitments and savings goals for the municipal arts fund, Simmons said that purchasing a second sculpture, on top of the People's Choice Award winner, would be "a bit challenging" for the city at this time. 

"I think it would be nice to think about budgeting for two into the future. And based on those explanations, I think it is good to just stick with one for right now," Cooper said.  

Cooper suggested the possibility of private organizations purchasing and donating additional sculptures to the city's collection. "There are private organizations in the community that buy art, and I think we all can just do our best to keep some of these great pieces in Olympia." 

This year, the Percival Plinth project featured 17 sculptures on the Percival Landing waterfront. Each year, the public is invited to vote for their favorite piece, with the winning sculpture being purchased by the city and displayed at City Hall for a year before being installed at another location in Olympia.