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It's been a year since the Art Cats roamed Los Gatos. The 50 feline sculptures were decorated by local artists, sponsored by local businesses and later auctioned for as much as $4,000 each.
Now, the money the Los Gatos Community Foundation raised through that program is being put to use.
The town's community services department has put out a call to artists for a commissioned sculpture at Bachman Park, which will be paid for with $10,000 from the foundation. The town has contributed an additional $1,500, for a total of $11,500.
"This is the first piece the town has actually commissioned in a long time," said Susan Buxton, volunteer coordinator with the community services department.
Buxton said other pieces of public art, such as those at the civic center, were either donated or loaned to the town.
The town's arts selection panel examined the possibility of commissioning a piece at 16 different parks and other locations. The panel chose the 3.6-acre, 31-year-old park at Bachman Avenue and Belmont Street. The Los Gatos Arts Commission approved the site in July.
Arts commissioner Marci Tjader, who also serves on the selection panel, said panelists were instructed to come up with their top three or four choices, and Bachman Park was repeatedly mentioned.
"It's a picturesque downtown park that's popular with both adults and children," she said.
She said the park's rolling hills and relatively large size make it conducive to a number of different artistic options. For that reason, there are no specific requirements about size, style, placement or media, although the sculpture must be safe and weather-resistant.
Buxton said giving artists a specific location will hopefully encourage them to create one-of-a-kind proposals.
"We didn't want to just say, 'Send in any artwork,' " she said. "We want it to be at this specific site ... Hopefully, submissions will all be something that will be kind of unique to Bachman Park."
Applications are due Nov. 30. The arts selection panel will make a recommendation for its favorite piece, which the arts commission will then need to approve. If the town council approves that proposal, the sculpture could be installed by this time next year.
"It's pretty exciting to know that we'll have something new in town," Tjader said. "We'd love to see public art as many places as possible."
As proved by the success of the Art Cats, so would the people of Los Gatos.
Applications are available online at www.losgatosca.gov or by contacting
Buxton at 408.354.6824.
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