Updates
The I2I global sculpture project is, at this point, conceptual in nature. I2I has a growing list of supporters that are helping to coordinate our efforts in making this project a reality.
Scott Westphal, artist, and his wife, Carol Morotti, would like to keep all of you posted of the recent events concerning I2I. This is such an exciting venture for us and we are thrilled to keep you updated. We also want to thank you all for your continued interest, support and insights. We encourage you to keep us abreast of your ideas, thoughts and suggestions.
November 14, 2007
Event: Mailing of brochure to Frank Basile , Glick Corporation
Net Take-away: He returned a very encouraging and complimentary letter and called the project, “a stunning original idea and magnificent sculpture”.
October 15, 2007
Event: Mailed all brochure and information to DIA Foundation of New York, with a request for funding.
Net Take-away: This project is not within the parameters of what they fund.
October 25, 2006
Event: Presentation to Elaine Bedell, President of Rotary Club of Indianapolis (Scott met with Elaine at her offices)
Net Take-away: Elaine had compliments and suggestions for next steps
October 19, 2006
Event: Presentation to Bob Bedel , President of the Indianapolis Convention Center (Bob called us after receiving the brochure and we met at our studio’s)
Discussed: If he felt the project had merit. What ideas he had to approach marketing.
Net Take-away: He commented that it is a “great” idea with lots of potential. We shouldn’t give up, that it is going to take a group of people to put their heads together.
August 31, 2006
Event: Presentation to John Byrne - Realtor for Collier Tucker
Discussed: Sites that are suitable. Also questioned if buying a building and tearing it down could be feasible.
Net take-away: John offered his services to the project.
August 17, 2006
Event: Mailing of 23 brochures
April 17, 2006
Event: Presentation to Scott Willy of 360 Group (second meeting)
Discussed: How to approach marketing of the project.
Net Take-Away: Made suggestions for other contacts. He is of the mind that this project should be politically driven. Suggested other cities in the U.S. with a more artistic bent than Indianapolis. Saw themes as: Truly visionary, high tech, connectivity and in tech and art. It’s about the human connection with a cerebral aspect.
April 3, 2006
Event: Presentation to Carole Darst, owner of CD Design Communications and Co-chair of the Mayor’s Gateways Partnership Work Group
Discussed: Budget – Carol thought our estimate of $4 million was low. Strategies - Giving the project greater visibility.
Net Take-away: Carole suggested making each beam larger and spreading them around the city. In this way each beam could also represent a district or segment of Indianapolis, and make the “Indianapolis-beam” more recognized by the general population. Carol’s comments about the project were, "brilliant", "cool" and "valuable".
March 14, 2006
Event: Presentation to Scott Willy of Three -Sixty Group
Net Take-Away: Scott, having already seen the model and brochure, suggested a meeting to share ideas. He loved the connection to the other side of the world and was excited, mentioning he has never seen anything like this. Scott has experience with projects of this scale and we explored ideas to take this beyond Indianapolis.
February 16, 2006
Event: Presentation to Robert A. Whitt, Executive Director of White River State Park
Net Take-Away: Bob felt the idea was “thought provoking” and that there were many possibilities. He explained that the decision making body for the park is comprised of ten members and offered to arrange a meeting to discuss further site possibilities.
January 26, 2006
Event: Presentation to Kent Baker meeting.
Discussion: I2I to New York City. He thought that N.Y.C. would be perfect for the project, focusing on the Twin Tower memorial site. He has contacts in N.Y.C. that may be able to help us with funding.
September 27, 2005
Event: Presentation to Bev Rella, CEO N Power (Lunch meeting.)
Discussion: N Power partnering as a fiscal agent.
Net Take-away: Bev said she loves the project and she would pass on other names of parties that could be helpful. Our project cost is too high to run through N Power.
August 18, 2005
Event: Caterina Creigor Blitzer, Katherine Brooks, Board of International Center Board (Internationl Center offices)
Net Take-away: International Center Board of Directors concluded that our project cost was too high to run through the Center.
June 15, 2005
I2I Global Sculpture is officially incorporated (copyright)
July 15, 2005
Event: Order 50 more brochures through Printing Partners for another mass mailing.
June 16,2005
Event: $20,000 Efrymson Grant denied
June 15, 2005
Event: Caterina Creigor Blitzer, International Center
Discussion: Partnering with the International Center as a fiscal agent.
Net Take-away: Caterina suggested N Power as a possible fiscal agent and we will meet again with the International Center Board.
June 7, 2005
Event: I2I design mark is a federally registered trademark.
April 25, 2005
Event: Applied for the $20,000 Efrymson Grant for seed money
March 30, 2005
Event: Decided to temporarily shelve the project to work on our individual art projects.
March 29, 2005
Event: We made a decision to pursue a fiscal agent and contacted the Indianapolis Art Center. The phone conversation netted the conclusion that the project was too expensive to run through their organization.
March 28, 2005
Event: Decided against 501c3 because of the conflict of interest. Scott would not be selling the sculpture and the business would interfere with our goals of being artists.
March 10, 2005
Event: Presentation to John Scofield- owner of Scofield Editing Jeff Bugbee - videographer
Discussed: Suggestions were made for concepts. Jeff suggested the idea of our place in time as concept. Lots of ideas and a fantastic meeting.
Net take-away: John offered to produce and edit the work and Jeff offered to video tape. John estimated $20,000 and offered a generous discount. Jeff offered the video at cost.
March 10, 2005
Event: Filed papers of incorporation
February 7, 2005
Presentation: Dona Robinson - accountant for her own company (dinner at home/studio)
Discussed: procedure of forming a 501c3/
Net take-away: Dona agreed to help us put the paperwork together.
February 3, 2005
Event: Presentation to Katherine Brooks , owner of Seek Solutions and former fundraiser for Heartland Films. (Coffee shop meeting)
Discussed: Possibility of forming a 501c3 not for profit organization, and the fundraising procedure
Net take-away - Think about ideas and get back later
March 8, 2005
Event: Meeting with Katherine Brooks, Dona Robinson, Courtney Kramer (Courtney is completing a degree in business with a focus on not for profit and is interested in becoming intern for the Project)
Discussed: The procedure and benefits of becoming a 501c3. We talked about the mission statement, goals, fundraising and strategic planning. We decided on a vision statement - The I2I Global Sculpture Project will be a symbol that will conceptually and visually form a connectedness between cultures of the world now and for future generations. We all brought ideas for mission statements. We liked- creating a visual image of connection that extends a message of global goodwill.
Net take-away: We will meet again after we each get our individual jobs done.
January 12, 2005
Event: Presentation to Fred Glass, President of the Indianapolis Capitol Improvement Board
Net Take-Away: Fred was very interested in the project and showed enthusiasm about integrating the I2I sculpture into the new Convention Center,. We also considered placing one beam to our Sister City, Cologne, Germany at the existing Convention Center as a prototype and moving to the new space when completed. Fred will keep us abreast of design progress.
December 5, 2004
Event: Presentation to John Scofield, Scofield Editing for video editing by Scott and Carol.
Net Take-away: Intention of producing a video presentation
October 25, 2004
Event: Presentation to the Cologne- Indianapolis Sister City Partnership Committee, (Sven Schumacher, Chairman) by Scott and Carol.
Net Take-away: The group was very excited about the concept the concept and will share the material with their Cologne, Germany connections.
July 21, 2004
Event: Alro Steel pledges $5,000 towards materials.
February 13, 2004
Event: Presentation Shannon Callahan, development director for Herron School of Art by Carol.
Net Take-away: Discussed capitol campaign techniques, with intent of raising all funds to gift to the city of Indianapolis.
May 29, 2004
Event: Article in Indianapolis Business Journal
May 7, 2004
Event: Presentation to Micky Maurer by Scott and Carol.
Net Take-away: Micky gave us a connection with the I.B.J. for an upcoming article.
March 19, 2004
I2I Web site is posted to the net.
January 29, 2004
Event: Meeting with Maury Plambeck, AICP, Director of Metropolitan Development for the City of Indianapolis
Net take-away: Maury found the concept very positive and exciting. The continually changing media component captured his interest and he saw educational opportunities as a result. He named downtown locations as prime, especially attached to the Cultural Trail and specifically the Market Square Arena development. When questioned about regulatory hurdles, he indicated that there would be very few regulations that would stand in the way.
December 19, 2003
Event: Meeting with Jeff Patchen, Director of the Indianapolis Children’s Museum
Net take-away: Jeff found I2I to be interesting. He thought it could be a compelling piece for children and families. He shared with us that large installation pieces like I2I can cost several million dollars. He also pointed out that ongoing maintenance of the pieces after they are installed is an important financial consideration. Jeff suggested exploring funding through Indiana steel distributors given the sculpture’s composition.
December 13, 2003
Event: Meeting with Ian Fraser, IU Foundation Fraser Travel Fund, Herron School of Art, IUPUI, and Ambrose Smith.
Net take-away: Ian’s vision for I2I sites reached beyond Indiana to other major U.S. cities and their corresponding sister cities. Ambrose gave his perspective on the pieces as "pinned" to the earth. This new perspective lead to new ideas for funding.
December 3, 2003
Event: Airport Charrette
Attendees: Mayor Bart Peterson, John Kish (project director), Alpha Blackburn (emcee), Ripley Rasmus (HOK Architects), Lisa Carr (HOK), and airport officials. Discussed: 150 participants discussed creative ideas for art at the new airport and locations for art (including the new Civic Plaza).
Net take-away: The art at the airport should be global and multi-cultural in nature, yet speak to Indiana residents.
November 24, 2003
Event: Meeting with Marty Peters, Director of Cultural Tourism, City of Indianapolis
Net take-away: Marty found the concept very intriguing and thought there were "endless possibilities" for interactive relationships. She felt the strongest feature of I2I was its connectivity with other cities and cultures. She offered many ideas for possible locations for I2I. She referred to the piece as a potential city landmark.
November 18, 2003
Event: Meeting with Lisa Freiman, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Net take-away: Lisa liked the international approach and the "dialectical link to Indiana." She indicated that the IMA sculpture park was still in the planning stage, and that plans include commissioning pieces that have a "response to the environment." She commented that she saw an environmental link with I2I in the way that it passes through the earth, and that it could be thought of as a unifying and healing element.
September 25, 2003
Event: Meeting with Brian Payne, President, Central Indiana Community Foundation and the Indianapolis Foundation.
Discussed: The Cultural Trail, which is currently in the planning/funding phase, an idea for which Brian Payne is the founder. Also discussed potential locations for I2I, including the airport, and the Cultural Trail.
Net-take-away: Brian found I2I "a mind expanding idea that brings us to a new level of thinking."
August 14, 2003
Event: Meeting with Kiera Amstutz, Assistant Deputy Mayor, City of Indianapolis.
Discussed: Locations for I2I, including White River State Park, the Cultural Trail, the Convention Center, and the airport.
Net take-away: Kiera referred to I2I as an "outstanding concept" and planned to share the idea with the Mayor.
August 1, 2003
Event: Diane Thomas came on board as development consultant. Her commitment is heartfelt and sincere and she is bringing many diverse and interested parties to the table.
October 2002 to July 2003
Event: A fabulous brochure was designed by Scott Johnson of Dean Johnson Design and the printing was donated by Michael O'Brien of Printing Partners. It has a very sophisticated yet simple look and is a great tool to communicate the I2I concept and vision. Dean Johnson Design was also responsible for the I2I logo.
October 24, 2002
Event: Meeting with Gretchen Freeman (Freeman/Whitehurst Group)
Discussed: Gretchen Freeman, a consultant working with the city on its overall plan for public art, was very candid regarding the lengthy process involved in implementing a project of this scope.
Net take-away: The meeting inspired the idea of creating a professional presentation.
October 12, 2002
Event: Both the idea and the title are copy written and trademarked. The attorneys involved were Sommer Barnard Ackerson.
September 16, 2002
Event: Meeting with Caterina Cregor Blitzer, Director of the International Center
Net take-away: Caterina was ecstatic about the idea. She called in her entire staff for us to present again. Since then, Caterina has written a beautiful and touching testimonial voicing enthusiasm of the potential for global interaction.
July 19, 2002
Event: Scott Johnson (Dean Johnson Design) and Christine Freiman (Freiman Consulting, Inc.) have been donating a good portion of their expertise and time since last year, helping us make presentations and giving us ever precious input as to the marketing aspects of this project.
April 11, 2002
Event: Meeting with Bret Waller, Director Emeritus to the I.M.A.
Discussed: Brett shared valuable knowledge about art acquisition. This gave us greater insight into the avenues available for bring this piece to the public. Bret mentioned the Indianapolis International Airport expansion project as a viable site.
Net take-away: Bret called the idea "fascinating"
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are grateful for the input and encouragement many people. We would like to thank the following additional contributors and champions. Each person’s enthusiastic council has enhanced and strengthened our vision:
- Joseph F. Miller - President, Miller Foundation
- Valerie Eickmeier - Dean of Herron School of Art
- Dave Lawrence - Arts Council of Indianapolis
- Jacqueline Nytes - Councillor, District 22
- Todd Rinehart - Architect, Woollen, Molzan and Partners, Inc.
- Barbara Richardson - Director of Institutional Advancements at the International School
- Carolyn Heins - M.S. consultant
- Eric Ponader and Alexa Woods - Attorneys, Sommer Barnard & Ackerson.
Each person, by contributing ideas and positive energy, is bringing us closer to the reality of I2I: materialized in steel, meeting the earth, making connections and greeting the public with ideas of peace and unity.
Scott Westphal and Carol Morotti
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