Selection panelists are essential to the public art commissioning process for the city of Boulder. Panelists include artists, designers, architects, business owners and interested community members. If you would like to serve on a selection panel, please submit a one-page letter of interest and current resume or CV to publicart@bouldercolorado.gov.
In 2016, the City of Boulder began implementing the Community Cultural Plan, which includes a call-to-action from residents for the agencies of city government to focus on six Community Priorities for Culture. With these priorities in mind, the city manager adopted a Public Art Policy with a purpose statement to provide a framework for the Public Art Program:
The City will acquire works of art which encourage creativity, contribute to a sense of place, spark conversation, tell our shared stories and capture our moment in time, foster the enjoyment of diverse works of art, and are thoughtfully designed contributions to the urban environment of our vibrant city.
The purpose of this policy is to establish procedures for the acquisition and maintenance of public art for the city of Boulder. Commissioning public art is guided by the principle to build a diverse and engaging collection of public art that is personal to the city, and informed by the community. A unique selection panel will be formed for each public art project and includes the following voting members: an artist, an arts professional, two community members (with knowledge in the arts), and an arts commissioner. As a group, the selection panel is responsible for the following:
- Developing artwork criteria for call for entry
- Reviewing all submissions
- Interviewing semifinalists and reviewing proposals
- Making a finalist recommendation to the Arts Commission
Participation typically includes three meetings:
- Orientation to build the project opportunity draft (1.5 hrs)
- Review of all submissions to determine 3-5 semifinalists (3 hrs)
- Semifinalist proposal presentations and interviews (3 hrs)
The selection panel is supported by a non-voting, advisory Technical Review Committee comprised of city staff and project representatives. To learn more about the public art commissioning process, review the City of Boulder Public Art Policy and the Public Art Implementation Plan.