Today the Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs released a statement that the anticipated engineering study is complete on Tom Orr and Frances Bagley’s public sculpture White Rock Water Theater (2001). The installation on White Rock Lake, which has fallen into disrepair as the city has not maintained it (much controversy ensued), required an engineering study to assess whether its underwater foundations needed an overhaul in order to restore the piece. The report indicates that “the structural steel footings and foundations of the Water Theater have deteriorated and a complete replacement of the poles would be needed.”
As of today, the “estimated cost of a complete restoration of the Water Theater is $198,375.” The Public Art Committee will present its findings and recommendations at at meeting on Thursday, February 19 at the Latino Cultural Center (4:30 p.m. and open to the public).
The release further states:
“After additional research to identify opportunities for this public art project, the Public Art Committee has recommended to the Cultural Affairs Commission that a contract be issued to artists Frances Bagley and Tom Orr to develop a new public artwork that re-envisions the ideas of the Water Theater,” says Interim Director, David Fisher. “The new public artwork would be designed for sustainability and would be located in a place that does not currently have public art.”
You can read more on the report here.
