Experiments in Public Art: Community Assembly

The City of Boulder is issuing a call for artists to design, implement, and facilitate a socially engaged project in 2025 as part of the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP). Experiments in Public Art presents an ongoing series of temporary public interventions that serve as a city-wide laboratory expanding the potential of public art. Unlike traditional public art commissions, these projects are experiments for the community as much as opportunities for artists to work within unconventional parameters.

The artist will attend Community Assembly meetings as an observer to gather content and inspiration for their work. The Community Assembly will bring together 48 randomly selected community members to develop recommendations around "Fifteen-minute neighborhoods," an urban planning concept where residents can access most daily needs within a 15-minute safe walk, roll, or bike ride from home. Assembly meetings are scheduled for May 3, 31, August 23, September 6, 20, October 4, and 18, 2025, from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the East Boulder Community Center. The artistic output will be used to memorialize the project on the public website, in presentations to community members and city planners, and in digital formats. The work should be appropriate for and accessible to people of all ages, cultural backgrounds, religious and political affiliations, and educational levels.

Applications must include a letter of intent (two-page maximum), 4-6 images or videos of previously completed projects, a one to two-page résumé, and a project budget not to exceed $20,000. The budget should include artist's fee, digital documentation, materials, travel, lodging if needed, per diem, and contingency expenses. This opportunity is open regionally (mountain west) with priority given to artists with connections to Boulder. Representatives from BIPOC, LGBTQAI+, multi-generational partnerships, multi-lingual, and other historically marginalized communities are highly sought after. The City will contract with one artist or artist team and require General liability insurance. Direct all questions to Rachel Cain at [email protected].