Virtual Arts in Public Places Committee Meeting: February 11, 2026


The Virtual Arts in Public Places Committee Meeting focused on updates regarding public art projects, budget allocations, upcoming artist calls, and eligibility criteria for future applications.

• Meeting discusses progress on public art projects and the approval of meeting minutes.
• The draft 2026 master public art plan received no major comments during the public hearing.
• Colette and Alexa will attend the community enrichment committee on 5 March for legislative approval.
•The call for artists opens on 16 March, with submissions due by 20 April.
• Committee discusses budget allocation for two public art locations, proposing $75,000 for each site.
• Eligibility criteria include a five-year wait for artists who completed previous large works to apply again.
• Discussed five-year policy for art awards and eligibility for future applications.
• Proposed creating a video scroll to promote awarded artworks and enhance visibility.
• Reviewed budget and location considerations for upcoming art projects at the botanical gardens.
• Addressed potential confusion around terminology for small works acquisition program titles.

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‘My favorite thing is to take the oil’: Trump goes off script on Iran war plans



President Donald Trump made several telling remarks Sunday in an interview with the Financial Times, revealing some of his administration’s potential war plans as it relates to Iran.

“To be honest with you, my favorite thing is to take the oil in Iran but some stupid people back in the US say: ‘why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people,” Trump told the Financial Times, the outlet reported.

Trump told the outlet that his “preference” in his administration’s war against Iran would be for the United States to “take the oil," invoking a comparison to the U.S. takeover of Venezuela’s oil industry in January when the Trump administration halted Venezuelan oil shipments to the Cuban government, and started oil shipments to Israel “for the first time in years.”

Trump also spoke to the possibility of the U.S. military seizing Kharg Island, an Iranian island critical to the nation’s oil industry.

“Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” Trump said, speaking with the Financial Times. “It would also mean we had to be [in Kharg Island] for a while. I don’t think they have any defense. We could take it very easily.”

Trump’s war against Iran has sent oil prices soaring as Iran continues to block U.S.-aligned vessels from accessing the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping channel through which 20% of the world’s oil trade flows. Trump has reportedly been looking for a way out of the war, though one former Trump security advisor warned that such an off-ramp may no longer exist.