Public Art Committee Chooses Sculpture For U.S. 41-Fruitville Road Roundabout: City

SARASOTA, FL — The Public Art Committee, a citizen advisory board, has unanimously selected Sujin Lim’s “Dwell” as its recommended sculpture for the U.S. 41-Fruitville Road roundabout.

The sculpture was chosen out of 143 applicants, the city of Sarasota said in a news release.

Inspired by coral reefs and Sarasota’s proximity to the ocean, the piece “attempts to represent the human experience with nature,” according to Lim’s proposal.

The committee will present its recommendation to the Sarasota City Commission at its March 7 meeting. The city commission will make a final determination.

The selected piece will become part of the city's public art collection and will be funded by contributions from developers.

The call to artists for the public art commission closed Sept. 16. The three finalists for the commission – Mark Aeling, Shan Shan Sheng and Lim – were selected Nov. 3. They were given $2,000 artist honorariums to come to Sarasota to present their proposals Tuesday and Thursday evening.

If the city commission approves the sculpture March 7, Lim will send a work plan for the project to the city’s Office of Public Art by July 20, according to the city website. The Public Art Committee will then review the final artwork proposal at an Aug. 3 meeting and is anticipated to recommend it to the city for final approval in September.

Once final approval from the city is given, the fabrication of the artwork, site prep and installation will begin once approved by the Florida Department of Transportation and the issuance of permits.