The Murie Family Park in Jackson will feature a wildlife viewing platform designed by artist Buster Simpson, enhancing visitor experience while promoting engagement with the natural environment and wildlife. Funded by various grants and local contributions, the project aims to create an accessible community gathering space that adheres to ADA guidelines and embodies the legacy of conservation. The installation, scheduled for 2017, follows a thorough design process incorporating community feedback and emphasizes the importance of public land access for future generations.

1. NORTH CACHE GATEWAYJackson Hole PUBLIC ART
Wildlife Viewing Platform
In collaboration with the Town of Jackson and the National Elk Refuge
Murie Family Park

2. A Wildlife Viewing Platform in the recently renamed Murie Family Park (North Park) will have a sculptural presence that
delineates it from pure functionality. The Platform will be installed at the gateway into the Town of Jackson, and visible from
a distance.
The artist is creating a unique experience for those who visit the park. Through design and use of materials, the artist will
screen some sections of the platform to create areas of immersion, areas of camouflage, and areas that reveal dramatic
expanses and showcase the stunning vistas at the site. Walking the platform will be an evolving experience.
The design will encourage people of all ages and abilities to engage with the natural beauty of the site, coexisting with the
native wildlife, swans, migrating birds, and wintering elk herd.
The installation will connect to the sidewalk and bike path, and it will be fabricated using cost-effective, natural materials
such as wood and/or non-reflective metal.
WHAT

3. WHY
The Wildlife Viewing Platform invites you on an
experiential journey from the busy streetscape
through willows waving, birds chirping, Flat Creek
flowing, and delivers you to a viewing platform
with magnificent views of the National Elk Refuge.
The dramatic passageway is an invitation to
explore and appreciate our spectacular public
lands guided by the sensitivity of an artist.
The Wildlife Viewing Platform will be designed to
meet Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines.
It will create a community gathering place and a
space to host educational activities.
Access to our public lands is imperative, to
engage future generations in learning about and
caring for our environment. The park has recently
been renamed the Murie Family Park, and this
project builds on the Murie’s legacy of inspiring
conservation through observation.

4. PROCESS & TIMELINE
Jackson Hole Public Art issued a national call for artists and a panel of local stakeholders selected Buster Simpson.
Simpson served a short-term residency in June 2016, to interact with the community and gather input on the Wildlife
Viewing Platform design. After several revisions based on stakeholder and community input, Simpson presented a final
design to the Mayor and Town Council that was approved in December 2016.
The public art will be installed during the Town’s 2017 capital street enhancement project and the schedule is designed to
align with the Town’s construction schedule to minimize impact on residents.
2016
WINTER
Artist Selection
FALL
Design development
Final approval
SUMMER
Artist residency
2017
WINTER
Engineering review
Construction Drawings
FALL
Installation
SUMMER
Fabrication

5. We received a prestigious grant from the
National Endowment for the Arts of $50,000
and matched it with funding from the Town
of Jackson, Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund,
Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, the
Center of Wonder and private individuals.
We recently received a challenge grant of
$25,000 from an anonymous donor and we
have through April to raise matching gifts to
reach the total budget of $150,000.
PROJECTED INCOME
National Endowment for the Arts 50,000
Town of Jackson 15,000
Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund 6,000
Community Foundation of JH 3,000
Center of Wonder 7,500
Individual Donors (16,000 secure) 41,000
Anonymous Foundation 25,000
Corporate Sponsors (pending) 10,000
TOTAL 157,500
TOWN OF JACKSON NORTH CACHE
STREETSCAPE BUDGET $1,200,000
ESTIMATED EXPENSES
Artist design Fees & Travel 22,500
Engineering 10,000
Materials, Fabrication & Installation 88,000
Landscaping & Site Reclamation 2,000
Maintenance Stipend to Town of Jackson 4,000
Administration & Community Outreach 15,000
Contingency 16,000
TOTAL 157,500
BUDGET

6. Buster Simpson has spent nearly five decades working
in the public art space through his visionary involvement
in major infrastructure projects, site master planning,
signature sculptures, museum installations, and
community projects. Simpson received his MFA in 1969,
and later, the Distinguished Alumni Award in Architecture
and Design, at the University of Michigan. Simpson is a
recipient of numerous awards including NEA fellowships
and the Americans for the Arts Artist of the Year Award
in 2009.
Simpson has exhibited at The New Museum, MoMA
PS1, Seattle Art Museum, The Hirshhorn Museum, Capp
Street Project, International Glass Museum, and a recent
retrospective at the Frye Art Museum. Simpson’s work
is included in numerous public commissions throughout
North America. Presently, he is working on commissions
for the Seattle Seawall, a large landfill in San Antonio,
Texas, and the Willamette River Greenway in Portland,
Oregon. Simpson recently conducted the second five-
week climate change confab at the Rauschenberg
Foundation on Captiva Island, Florida.
ABOUT THE ARTIST

7. STAFF
Jackson Hole Public Art is a 501(c)3, non-profit
organization incorporated in 2011. Our mission is to forge
partnerships for the integration of art into any environment,
to inspire lasting cultural, educational and economic
benefits.
Carrie Geraci
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Carrie directs all projects and initiatives for Jackson Hole
Public Art, including coordination of art commissions
through the Public Art Task Force for the Town of Jackson.
Carrie founded JHPA in 2010, following many years of
coordinating public art installations across the valley.
Bland Hoke
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
Bland oversees temporary art installations, the Mobile
Design Studio, and supports public art education and
outreach programs. Raised in Jackson, Bland is a public
artist specializing in collaborative design, resourceful
thinking, and strategic project planning.
Shawn Meisl
PROJECT MANAGER
Shawn coordinates the particulars of public art projects
and events. Her background includes twenty years of
marketing and fund raising for non-profit organizations,
including creative programming and event planning.
Katy Niner
COMMUNICATIONS
Katy wraps creative writing around public art projects and
programs. She is a roving writer with field experience and a
background in business and art journalism.
Tyler Sinclair
JOINT PLANNING DIRECTOR
Adam Harris
CURATOR NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WILDLIFE ART
John Frechette
MADE JH
Sam Ankeny
CLB ARCHITECTS
Heidi Leeds
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Jason Berning
CRYSTAL CREEK CAPITAL
Jed Mixter
JACKSON HOLE PUBLIC ART BOARD
JACKSON HOLE PUBLIC ART
BOARD MEMBERS
Phillip A. Coosaia
CHAIR
Jed Mixter
VICE CHAIR
Andy Ankeny
TREASURER
Catherine Bradford
Lisa Flood
Des Jennings
Jennifer Visosky
Logan Sanders
Eric Logan , Emeritus
TOWN OF JACKSON
PUBLIC ART TASKFORCE [PAT]
The Town of Jackson Public Art Guidelines are referenced by
the Public Art Task Force when overseeing the commission
process and creating the Annual Public Art Plan.