Longmont art revival gets citizens involved

LONGMONT — Most people, when asked to nominate the artistic capital along the Front Range, probably would opt for Boulder; it’s a fair bet few would choose Longmont.

But that could well change. In recent years a quiet revolution has been happening in Longmont, and the evidence is all around — literally — as sculptures, murals, mosaics and a host of other artworks pop up around the city.

The key to this artistic revival is the strong working relationship that binds together the Longmont’s Art in Public Places committee (AIPP), Council for the Arts and Downtown Development Authority. In addition, there is ongoing financial and other support from the city council and perhaps most important of all, a very real commitment to public participation and involvement.

A panel made up of interested members of the public has just finished the process of selecting an artist to create artworks in six breezeways running east and west off Main Street.

This commission, worth $100,000 and funded equally by AIPP and the Downtown Development Authority, is part of the planned renovation of the Main Street area and is the largest single project AIPP has been involved with.

AIPP administrator Lisa Spiecker says the project attracted applications from about 50 artists, and a selection panel then narrowed the field to three finalists: Armando Alvarez from New Mexico, Rafe Ropek from nearby Berthoud and Harriet Lee of Manitou Springs. At the panel’s last meeting on Aug. 18, Armando Alvarez got the nod for his piece “Los Arcos de Longmont.”

While the number of entries was impressive, so was the local public interest; nine people were chosen for the selection panel from about 14 applicants. “Usually we get just enough people. This was the first time AIPP had to turn people away,” Spiecker said.

AIPP is funded by the City of Longmont, which designates 1 percent of all capital improvements over $50,000 (excluding roads) for public art. That amounts to around $100,000 per year.

It’s a farsighted approach to public art funding, which gets two thumbs up from local architect Mike Bensky, an AIPP committee member for four years and chairman for the past two.

“It’s a wonderful program, and the funding arrangement is very progressive on the part of the city council and the people of Longmont,” says Bensky. “I think the community realizes how much public art adds to the quality of life.”

Since the public art program began in the early 1990s, Spiecker says more than a dozen projects have been completed, including a mural on the youth center, a bronze sculpture of children at play in Garden Acres Park and a 35-foot tall ceramic tile mural at the Safety and Justice Center.

Elsewhere, sculptures blend in with the St. Vrain Greenway; another stands at the senior center; there’s a bronze map of early Longmont, humorous imprints in the sidewalks along part of Coffman Street and a steel sculpture of blue herons on the Ute Creek Golf Course.

At Willow Creek Park, a new development west of Longmont, there’s a work in progress called “Alphabet Farm,” which brings together everything from poetry to a hatching dinosaur’s egg.

Meanwhile, work is due to start next spring on “Nature’s Way,” a series of mostly interactive artworks along Southmoor Park Greenway, while sculptor Jeff Oens will be working on “The Journey,” a bronze flock of geese, due for display in the clubhouse at Isaac Walton Pond.

According to Bensky, the AIPP program also is about getting the community involved. He points out that it is citizens who select the artworks and in some cases, like the Unity project in Kensington Park, they also become directly involved in construction.

Bensky says Art in Public Places provides an opportunity to inspire creativity, contribute to civic pride and promote discussion, even when the debate is sometimes negative. “From time to time there’s some controversy, but that’s the nature of public art.”

Anne Drake has been closely involved in the Longmont arts scene for several years. She’s one of the dozen AIPP board members, is on the board of the Firehouse Art Gallery and four years ago co-founded ArtWalk.

This began as a monthly walking tour of Longmont art galleries but has evolved into an event THAT embraces the arts, music and dance in a three-hour program held every four months. The next one takes place Sept. 17.

Drake says ArtWalk enjoys great support from the local business community, and the public and is just one more reason that Longmont is becoming so firmly established on the Boulder County arts map.

“The vibrant art community in Longmont is one of our best-kept secrets,” says Drake. “Art in Longmont is very diverse. It’s all over the city and has become just part of everyday living. I think it really adds something to the quality of life here.”

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