The City issued an informal Request for Statement of Qualifications (RSOQ) to design the beautification elements for the new parking lot at the airport.  The artist team of Pete Goldlust and Melanie Germond was selected, and the City entered into a design contract with this team.  Design commenced January 2021 and the Beautification and Public Art Commission approved the Preliminary Art Concept in June 2021. 

The original beautification project was to be included in the overall construction contract for the airport parking lot, and was budgeted for $100,000. However, the art design process did not align with the parking lot project timeline. Therefore, the City is contracting for the beautification project separately, with a current design contract for the artists of $15,000. The City will separately procure contracts for materials, fabrication, and installation of the project.

The artwork is entitled The Coconino Scroll and Footnotes. 

The Coconino Scroll is a highly ornamented decorative steel fence, composed of images that celebrate the history, environment, and culture of Flagstaff and its surroundings. The artwork places an emphasis on sharing surprising and little-known stories and representing the rich cultural diversity of the area. It both welcomes visitors and those returning home. 

The piece includes 28 fence sections, each 9.5’ wide and up to 7’ high, totaling 266 linear feet of artwork. The work is to be situated along the Pulliam Drive walkway leading from the new parking lot to the terminal building. Placement will be ~2’ away from the sidewalk, on its inside edge, away from traffic. Pedestrians will view the piece running alongside them as they walk between these two zones of the airport.  

The fence artwork is constructed from laser-cut 3/16” weathering steel, which is durable and easy to maintain. With its familiar rust-colored oxidized patina, the piece will harmonize with the similar finish of other FUTS fences and public structures of Flagstaff. Sturdy industrial stained glass accent elements embedded in the fence will add color and vibrancy to the design. These colored glass elements will refract sunlight in shifting ways, based on changing conditions throughout the day and season.   

The fence is designed to mimic the familiar three-rail layout and proportions of Flagstaff’s characteristic FUTS fences. As the pedestrian walks along the sidewalk, the regular horizontal lines of typical fence rails next to them gradually become wavy, fluid, and alive. Progressing along the piece, the fence morphs into a flowing, swirling river of imagery, undulating with animated stories of Flagstaff life. 

The overall tone of the artwork is whimsical and light-hearted. Flagstaff stories are represented by symbolic or narrative vignettes, hidden gems within a larger landscape. These vignettes are suggested, but not necessarily explained directly within the fence imagery itself. The fence images function largely as playful visual riddles, intended to spark curiosity.

An accompanying series of 24 cast bronze plaque medallions, Footnotes, are embedded within the sidewalk adjacent to the fence. These provide brief background and informational text about some of the adjacent fence section’s images and stories. Community stakeholders are currently vetting text. 

Community groups, City Divisions and Commissions were informed or consulted about this project, including community members, the Beautification and Public Arts Commission, Discover Flagstaff, Indigenous staff and representatives, Lowell Observatory, Arizona Historical Society and City of Flagstaff Building Safety and Risk Management.