Public Invited to View Submissions, Submit Their Own
Clark County today unveiled a 1 October Memorial gallery for creative expressions and invited the public to view the gallery and make submissions of their own.
The call for creative expressions asks anyone with an interest to submit suggestions, ideas, design concepts, video, artwork, poems, drawings, stories, songs and other contributions that design team finalists will be required to review to inform the development of their memorial proposals.
This public call was created with three intentions:
• To allow anyone to share creativity born out of their personal experience to inspire design team finalists and give them a sense of the emotions, feelings and perspectives within the impacted community;
• To allow anyone with a specific idea or design concept for a permanent memorial (or any aspect of a memorial) to share those ideas with design team finalists; and
• To allow artists without the team necessary to participate in the RFQ process an opportunity to share with design team finalists their interest in contributing to the creation of a memorial.
The public are able to view the gallery through a link on the 1 October Memorial Web pages at www.ClarkCountyNV.gov/1OctoberMemorial and through a special app at https://bit.ly/3ntZE66. A direct link to the gallery: https://tinyurl.com/38snr674.
“We are excited about this process phase and to engage the impacted community further,” said 1 October Memorial Committee Chairwoman Tennille Pereira, who will participate in Monday’s unveiling. “It’s an innovative approach designed specifically for our community. The gallery offers healing through our shared experiences and I am certain will be a beneficial source of insights, perspectives and ideas for our design team finalists.”
All submissions will be added to the gallery, unless the contributor opts out, as they are received and are reviewed by Clark County staff for appropriateness of the content. RFQ finalists will be provided with all submissions and will be expected to review and consider ideas for possible inclusion in final proposals.
The process of developing a memorial will unfold in three phases over 18 months and result in the committee making a formal recommendation for a project to the Clark County Commission in 2023. All design concepts will be on display during September and October. Those interested in submitting a design concept or participating in any of the three pathways of participation may visit the 1 October Memorial website at https://bit.ly/3ug62Bx.
One submission came from Michael R. Boyd. “The news of this tragic event struck me especially hard,” he said. “I am a long-time music festival fan, having attended many outdoor events throughout my life and having spent many years coming to Las Vegas for concerts and rodeos before moving here. Putting my idea to paper was my own way of paying tribute to the lives lost, knowing that I would likely never have a chance to share my condolences with the survivors and families of the victims. This submission process is an opportunity to share these feelings in a more permanent and direct way, whether chosen as a permanent part of the memorial or not.”
Jen Nails was in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists struck. And she was back in Las Vegas on 1 October. “The same feelings of helplessness, fear, anxiety, anger, confusion, motivation to DO something, then back to helplessness…and through the same cycle of emotions, came back to me,” she said. “I think there was also “survivor’s guilt.” Why was I spared? I wrote this poem on October 2, 2017 NOT out of the sugar-coated desire to “hug my kids a little tighter tonight” or to “be grateful for what I have” although I really understand why people choose to cope with unheard of tragedies/acts of violence like these in these ways, but I wrote the poem out of the helplessness I felt, mixed with the ambition and drive to try and DO SOMETHING.”
“As a librarian, I love the idea of archiving and record-keeping; holding onto history in a city like ours that continues to reinvent itself is so important. It seems that this 1 October Memorial will archive that day and the months and years that followed. It is also an archive of the city’s pain and how we were shattered and then how we tried to put one another back together.”
The memorial’s goal is to remember those who perished in the incident, honor the survivors, first responders, and everyday heroes who inspired the nation with their bravery and celebrate our community’s resiliency and compassion. Members of the 1 October Memorial Committee include Committee Chairman Tennille Pereira, director of the County’s Vegas Strong Resiliency Center; Karessa Royce, a 1 October survivor, serving as Vice Chairman; Mynda Smith, the sister of 1 October Victim Neysa Tonks; Kelly McMahill, a retired deputy chief for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; architect Dr. Robert Fielden, who established the UNLV School of Architecture; Rebecca Holden, public art project manager for the city of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs; and Harold Bradford, a local artist.
“The 1 October tragedy deeply impacted our community and as we design the memorial, we wanted to create a process that would solicit involvement from the public to continue our journey of healing,” Pereira said.
The call for creative expression is one of three pathways for public participation. The other two are:
• RFQ – This is for professional artists and design teams, including a Nevada-licensed architect, interested in submitting a proposed concept for a memorial. Up to five RFQ teams will be selected to participate in the second phase of the memorial-development process, which will include meeting with stakeholder focus groups, reviewing creative expression submissions, and creating models to showcase their design concepts. Applications may be submitted between Aug. 1 and Oct. 31.
• Call for RFQ evaluators – This is for those interested in serving on a jury this fall to evaluate formal RFQs from professional design teams interested in participating in the process. Seven evaluators will be selected, along with seven alternates. The makeup of the panel will consist of a family member of a victim, a survivor of the shooting, a first responder, a representative from Clark County’s Real Property Management Department, and experts in architecture, engineering, art history, or similar disciplines. Applicants not selected to serve as evaluators may be invited to participate in stakeholder focus groups with up to five RFQ finalists chosen to design a memorial concept and model in the second phase of the process. Applications may be submitted before July 31.
Additional information on the 1 October Memorial process may be found at https://bit.ly/3ug62Bx.