Oct. 23, 2023

This paid piece is sponsored by Washington Pavilion Management Inc.

Art often can be the last thing a workplace thinks about in finishing its space.

“It’s usually the last part of any project – that’s how it was for us the last time we moved into a new office too,” said Christie Ernst, executive vice president of property management at Lloyd Cos.

“We moved in, and it was like, ‘Oh shoot, we need art on the walls.’ So we hired a photographer to take pictures and put it on canvas.”

It wasn’t a bad solution, but it wasn’t nearly as positive as what Lloyd Cos. did with its newest office, which encompasses more than two floors of The Steel District downtown and overlooks Falls Park.

“This time we had a budget upfront, and we worked with the Washington Pavilion as our arts consultant starting early in the process,” Ernst said. “It made a huge difference.”

Lloyd Cos. was among the first clients of Washington Pavilion Management Inc.’s new arts consulting service, which allows the Visual Arts Center’s curators to help source local art and artists to assist with commercial and even residential projects.

“We saw a tremendous need in the community for this service, and we knew we had the talented staff to meet that need,” said Darrin Smith, CEO of Washington Pavilion Management Inc. “This allows us to lift up local artists and lift up the arts in general in our community. Our intent is to promote and sell local and regional artists almost exclusively.”

Often, it’s a relief for those putting together the projects, said Cameron Ostrom, the Washington Pavilion’s director of sales and administration.

“I’m usually talking with a marketing or HR person who has been tasked with finding art for a project, and they don’t know where to go,” he said. “They’re very excited we’re able to offer this service, that they can work with an accredited museum and that our curators, Jana and Erin, are bringing incredible connections with the arts community and know how to acquire, curate and install art.”

Curators Jana Anderson and Erin Castle are able to take what they do every day in the Visual Arts Center and put it to work throughout the community through these projects, they said.

“Ultimately, we’re listening to what the customer wants first,” Anderson said. “And then we come back with a list of artists to consider working with, as well as existing or available artwork. If they want to buy the piece, we manage the sale all the way through hanging it on their walls. Or we’re able to work more in-depth to help produce custom pieces and facilitate commissioned artwork.”

For clients such as Lloyd, “it’s really helpful to have experts on the project,” Ernst said. “They just picked up and moved ahead. It’s so helpful because you don’t even know where to start. They cared about the budget, and they were fantastic.”

With the Lloyd project, “they really wanted the office to feel contemporary and unique, and they knew they wanted a variety of original art and photography,” Anderson said. “They wanted color, they wanted texture, they were interested in abstraction and a full spectrum of work that speaks to who their employees and clients are. This allowed us to use artwork to create a positive employee and client experience.”

Here’s a look at some of the unique pieces the Washington Pavilion team helped source for Lloyd Cos.:

Engineering Series

Sioux Falls artist Liz Heeren’s work helped define the entrance to the office. These pieces are a part of a body of work called the Engineering Series.

“Liz was interested in industrial construction zones and areas of suburban development. She uses colors and shapes found in this industry to speak to the overlap of natural and synthetic human environments,” Anderson said. “Through her mixed media art, she is speaking to concepts and ideas the Lloyds are dealing with every day as a company.”

From East to West

Throughout the common areas of the office, there’s a mix of work from artists on both sides of South Dakota, representing how Lloyd works in multiple markets.

“There’s buffalo photography, artists doing things with landscape and more contemporary fields, but they’re from both sides of the state,” Anderson said. “You might not know as you’re walking through, but you’ll see Badlands imagery alongside downtown Sioux Falls imagery to create sort of a pathway between the regions.”

The work “felt like it represented us in a way that didn’t scream ‘construction company,’” Ernst said. “They found a lot of artists and did a slideshow and asked what we liked, and it was a quick way to go through them.”

Custom touches

The Lloyd office also is filled with one-a-kind work, from a “huddle room” done with a vintage Lloyd feel to a sleek way the Washington Pavilion team displayed shovels from significant project groundbreakings.

Each conference room has a distinct feel, and one has an especially symbolic touch: a decades-old scrapbook that’s sealed into a conference room table.

“Our role in that was digitizing the book, so they have nice scans of the text and color-corrected photos, and we were able to preserve the content for them while they incorporated the actual book into this piece,” Anderson said.

“At heart, we are curators, and we care about archives and collection maintenance and protecting history, so this was a way we could assist with that while they created a new memorable piece.”

Next up: An extensive history wall down the office’s main corridor, incorporating a narrative and illustration of the company’s 50-year history.

“We’re really happy with how everything came together,” Ernst said. “The Washington Pavilion team understood our vision and definitely delivered it.”

How it works

The process of working with the Washington Pavilion arts consulting team starts with an initial meeting where Ostrom discusses the services offered to determine if it’s a good fit for both sides.

“We’ll put together an outline of timeline, expectations, work with them on budget and hone in on a proposal that works for them,” he said. “From there, we keep the process moving as they narrow in on what they like, and we handle it all the way through installation.”

The service also will be highlighted in the Washington Pavilion’s new museum store, which opens next year at The Steel District and will offer a curated selection of merchandise, much of it from local artists.

“We see that store as very much a front door to this service,” Smith said. “We can curate your home. We can curate your office. This is something we can do anywhere.”

That even includes outside of Sioux Falls as interest demands, in addition to existing businesses and residences.

“It’s natural to think of this with new construction, but refreshing art in an existing workplace can really change your perspective,” Anderson said.

All those involved in the new service say it has been a rewarding way to help generate business for local artists by connecting them with organizations who want to buy their work.

“We want to support artists and be a great partner with them by bridging the gap between artists and potential buyers,” Smith said.

If your next project could benefit from the Washington Pavilion’s art consulting service, the team would love to discuss it with you. Start by reaching out to Cameron Ostrom at [email protected].