Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Public art is funded with public money, and Steamboat Springs city officials want to know how they should proceed in developing their first public arts program.

The city is inviting residents who are interested in public arts or have experience with public arts programs to share their input at a meeting today at Centennial Hall.

Last year, city officials decided to allocate $15,000 in capital project funds for art projects and displays in 2005. The Intergovernmental Services Dep--artment is proposing that the city establish a formal public arts program with public and private funds.

Officials are working to raise $10,000 in private matching funds for the program, department dir--ector Linda Kakela said.

The first step toward making the program a reality is developing an organizing committee.

In addition to recruiting people for the committee and discussing program structures, meeting participants also will look at potential projects to fund.

The Steamboat Springs Arts Council is requesting public funds to help purchase a cougar sculpture for possible placement at the Gondola Transit Center. The Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. has granted $12,500 for the project, and the Arts Council needs $6,000 to buy the piece from the artist.

Some of the city's 2005 public art capital project funds went toward the Diego Rivera exhibit at the Depot Art Center.

Any unspent funds will carry over into 2006, Kakela said.

Another example of a public arts project was the Mexican sculpture exhibit displayed at Centennial Hall in 2004. The exhibit drew a wide audience, including high school students who sketched and studied the sculptures as part of their curriculum, Kakela said.

"City Council was pleased with the amount of interest in that," she said.

The city might hold an additional organizational meeting next week, depending on attendance and feedback at today's meeting, Kakela said.

-- To reach Tamera Manzanares, call 871-4204 or e-mail tmanzanares@steamboatpilot.com