Six San Diegans Among Seven Finalists Chosen for Freeway Artwork

Six San Diegans were among seven finalists chosen Thursday to design a $100,000 city-sponsored artwork.

The large-scale, freeway-related work, titled North Gate, will be placed near Interstate 5 and Ardath Road. It is the first of seven artworks in the city’s first major art-in-public-places project.

The San Diego finalists are artist Ellen Phillips, architect Tom Grondona, the team of architects Wayne Buss and Robert Hotten, and the team of artist Linda Churchill and designer Nick Weiss.

The other finalist is artist Roy Wilson of Plymouth Meeting, Pa.

The finalists will receive $5,000 to refine their designs through a scale model and drawings that will be judged in a second round scheduled for September.

The five winning entries will be exhibited through April in the lobby of City Hall at 202 C St.

On display on the second floor at City Hall are the 37 entries for a second freeway-oriented artwork, South Gate, planned for a site near Chicano Park, the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge and I-5.

Juror Helen Harrison said she was surprised that relatively few local artists entered the contests. Forty-seven entries were received from San Diego County residents. The rest came from artists around the country and Tijuana.

“I think that people were somewhat intimidated by what was demanded in the (submission) process,” Harrison said. “I hope people will come and look at the entries.”

The final two artists for South Gate and North Gate will be announced Sept. 20. They will receive a $12,000 commission to develop their final plans.

Ground-breaking for the two projects could be as early as February, a city spokeswoman said.