HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 8/28/2018 - Memorandum From Art In Public Places Board Re: Art In Public Places And Allocated Funding From BroadbandCultural Services
Art in Public Places
Lincoln Center
417 West Magnolia
Fort Collins, CO 80521
970.416-2789
970.221.6373 - fax
fcgov.com/artspublic
Date: August 22, 2018
To: Mayor and City Councilmembers
From: Art in Public Places Board
RE: Art in Public Places and Allocated funding from Broadband
We are writing to encourage you to continue to protect and support the dedicated funding for Art
in Public Places. Celebrating 23 years, the Fort Collins Art in Public Places (APP) staff have done
an impressive amount of work and maintained a dedication to quality and excellence. The positive
local impact of the Art in Public Places program in Fort Collins is undeniable. Our vibrant city has been
transformed with beautified alleyways, parks, trails, and public spaces, and people of all ages continue to
enjoy the Pianos About Town project. Since its creation, the APP program has completed:
• 262 Transformer Cabinet Murals
• 102 Piano Murals
• 213 Pedestrian Pavers
• Over 130 pieces of public art in the City’s collection
They have done all of this, while being underfunded in comparison to the national average of comparable
cities.
The Art in Public Places program is an essential core cultural resource and economic driver for the
City of Fort Collins. Public art positively influences how people relate to the places where they live,
work, and play, providing an aesthetic design that supports its identity and helps residents feel connected
and valued. Public art adds uniqueness to our community, humanizes the built environment, and increases
property values. It provides an intersection between past, present, and future and serves as an opportunity
to educate, elevate, and inspire. The term “public art” may conjure images of historic bronze statues.
However, public art can—as it does in Fort Collins—include murals, sculpture, memorials, integrated
architectural designs, landscape art, community performances, digital new media, temporary installations,
and festivals. Today's public art is highly collaborative, engages residents, and creates a source of
community pride.
APP supports a shared vision across all of the cultural services and organizations identifying Fort Collins
as the hub for arts, creativity, innovation, and culture in Northern Colorado. APP continues to organize
community outreach, develop collaborations across the public sector, and engage in active dialogue
around best practices with other local and national agencies. The APP staff and Board have been
participating in the discussions for the 10-year update of the City's Cultural Plan and have received an
overwhelmingly positive response in support of the Fort Collins public art program throughout the public
engagement process.
Moving forward, we see a bright opportunity for Fort Collins residents in offering them the choice
to invest in a public utility that directly supports the local public art and design in their own
community. The Board does not see any rationalization in an exemption for APP funding from
underground versus above ground utilities. Rather, we see this project and its allocated APP funding as an
integral part of a growing city, consistent with underground stormwater projects that also help fund APP.
Broadband will offer significant benefits to the city’s individual artists, creative businesses, and cultural
organizations, as it will allow for the arts sector to grow and for Fort Collins to be seen as a desirable
location for these types of business enterprises that also need high-speed internet. The allocated funding
to APP gives Broadband a unique marketing advantage over its current commercial competitors who do
not give back to the communities in which they serve. We understand that it will initially take some time
to generate revenue and are open to creative funding strategies, including staggered payments, in order to
ensure the success of this vital new utility program.
We ask that you continue to protect and support this dedicated funding that strengthens the
capacity of Art in Public Places in order to create a diverse and welcoming culture that directly
benefits the City of Fort Collins’ residents and visitors.
Respectfully submitted,
Kirsten Savage
Vice Chair, City of Fort Collins Art in Public Places Board
2018 Art in Public Places Board Members
Miriam Chase
Sabrina Davies
Gwen Hatchette
Carol Ann Hixon
Renee Sherman
Michael Short
cc: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Ginny Sawyer, Senior Project Manager