Beautiful Benchmarks Art Installation
The City of Marathon has teamed with the Florida Keys Council of the shine a light on a very important subject, sea level rise, with a commissioned piece of public art.
“It will be a physical reminder to make people aware,” said artist Craig Gray . “It will be in the public eye all the time to remind people of what’s important and the end goal.”
Gray responded to the City’s call for artists to lead the Beautiful Benchmarks project. It is a $10,000 Art Builds Community Grant awarded by the Florida Keys Council of the Arts. The City will be holding a public meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall for community input. Residents are encouraged to attend to share ideas for the design and placement of the art installation.
“I have lots of great ideas, but I want to get feedback at the meeting,” Gray said. “I’ll bring a couple of sketched concepts, but I want to hear from City officials and community members and stakeholders to see how the project will develop. In other words, I let them guide my hands during the carving process.”
Gray has created more than 100 public art pieces in 26 states. Some big, some small.
“I’ve done projects that cost as much as $100,000 and some that cost $5,000,” he said. “If the project interests me, the size doesn’t matter. The fun thing about this project will be creating the measuring stick and designing its incremental visuals.”
As a Monroe County resident of more than a decade, Gray says he has experience with flooding that accompanies hurricanes, specifically those of 2017 and 2022.
The goal of Beautiful Benchmarks is to provide community engagement regarding flooding and sea level rise that is outside the standard scope of flood mapping and statistical analysis. Low-income residents tend to face increased safety risks during floods as research suggest they are more likely to remain in low-lying areas. By engaging the community with the artist, they will be able to have a visual representation of the data and analysis that crosses the language barriers, and acts as a local benchmark to know how they may be impacted in the future from storms, high tides, or other climate change events.
“By engaging the community with the artist Craig Gray, citizens will be able to assist in developing a visual representation of the data and analysis that crosses the language barriers, and acts as a local benchmark to know how they may be impacted in the future from storms, high tides, or other climate change events,” said Brian Shea, the City’s Planning Director.
“I commend Marathon for being a leader in highlighting sea level rise and I want to be a part of bringing awareness to this issue, bringing change,” Gray said. “Hopefully, preventative measures can ‘turn the tide.’”
The Florida Keys Council of the Arts’ Art Builds Community Grant aims to strengthen community by fostering relationships between artists, arts organizations, and civic organizations within the Florida Keys to generate greater cultural equity. This grant is sponsored in part by the Florida Keys Council of the Arts, The Helmerich Trust, Ocean Sotheby’s International and private donations.
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR YOUR CHOICE OF LOCATION FOR THE ART INSTALLATION
The options are (one choice per person):
The Quay (currently in development)
7 Mile Marina (formerly Salty’s - currently in development)
Jessie Hobbs Park
Marathon Community Park
Sombrero Beach
Coco Plum Beach
Rotary Children’s Park
Marathon City Marina
Oceanfront Park (Behind City Hall)
Sunset Park, Grassy Key
