DATE: May 17, 2017
MEDIA CONTACT: Ellen Kennedy, Assistant Director
Business Development Division/Communications
PHONE: 954-468-3508
EMAIL: ekennedy@broward.org
BROWARD COUNTY, FL -- Broward County's Port Everglades was honored by receiving two Community Appearance Awards from the City of Fort Lauderdale for artwork incorporated into new construction projects.
The projects are part of Port Everglades' continuous investments in creating the ultimate cruise guest experience to welcome passengers and port visitors alike. Port Everglades is the third busiest cruise port in the world, handling nearly 4 million embarking and debarking passengers annually.
"Art can create attachment to a place. Open and welcoming aesthetics resonate with people and serve as a nexus to feelings of safety and wonder," said Port Everglades Chief Executive and Port Director Steven Cernak. "This art impression is important to a business like Port Everglades. We want visitor touchpoints to be unique and memorable. We want our visitors to think about the Port in affirmative terms and as a prideful experience. Public Art helps the Port to make this positive impression."
As a self-funded enterprise within Broward County government, Port Everglades works with Broward County's Cultural Division to foster public art projects in the cruise terminals and public areas throughout the Port that create a sense of place and improve aesthetics. The projects selected for the Community Appearance Awards are both exterior art enhancements.
Husband and wife team Jonathan and Saori Russell installed eight larger-than-life kinetic bird sculptures on solar and wind-powered lampposts in the surface lot at Cruise Terminal 4 as part of a complete facility renovation project. The unique artworks titled "Songs of the Everglades," are mounted on solar/wind powered hybrid street lamps. Each bird is designed to swivel with the wind, while the attached fish, frogs, butterflies and foliage spin in a circular motion. This project emphasizes the inventive junction of art and nature with renewable energy technologies.
Artist David Dahlquist transformed an imposing gray cement security checkpoint into a welcoming Florida Everglades-styled entryway. To meet the checkpoint's functional requirements of clear and unobstructed sightlines with wayfinding signage and messaging graphics, visual surveillance and uniformed guards, the artist fabricated a combination of customized and glazed ceramic relief tile, mosaic glass and metal panel wrapping with a nature motif. Color-drenched patterns found in nature covered drab and ordinary structures and the total effect is simultaneously dramatic and comforting.
The Community Appearance Awards are presented each year to encourage aesthetic awareness and to acknowledge individuals and organizations who are working to enhance, improve and beautify the Fort Lauderdale community. The Awards recognize homeowners, architects, landscapers and developers for their individual efforts to enhance the City's visual image and economic vitality. Neighborhood associations are recognized for projects that positively affect the area of the association. Since the program's inception in 1978, hundreds of commercial buildings, office towers, residences, and landscape improvements have been nominated for awards. Sponsorship of the program comes from the community in the form of corporate and private donations, as well as from the City of Fort Lauderdale.
About Port Everglades
As one of Florida's leading economic powerhouses, Broward County's Port Everglades is the gateway for international trade and cruise vacations. The Port Everglades Department is a self-supporting Enterprise Fund of Broward County, Florida government with operating revenues of nearly $163 million in Fiscal Year 2016 (October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2016). It does not rely on local tax dollars for operations. The total value of economic activity related to Port Everglades is nearly $29.4 billion. Almost 223,000 Florida jobs are impacted by the Port, including 12,963 people who work for companies that provide direct services to Port Everglades. For more information on Port Everglades, go to porteverglades.net or e-mail PortEverglades@broward.org.
PICTURED: Peg Buchan, second from left, receives the Community Appearance Award for Broward County's Port Everglades from the City of Fort Lauderdale. She is joined by, from left: David Bowles, Vice Chair Community Appearance Board, City Commissioner Romney Rogers, and Leslie Fordham, Arts Administrator for Broward County's Cultural Division.