City of Boulder Creative Neighborhood project moves into Gunbarrel

The City of Boulder first passed the Community Culture and Safety tax in 2014, and the funds from this tax went toward supporting local cultural projects--many of which were related to public art and public open spaces such as Boulder Creek, Chautauqua and others.

The original tax expired in 2017, but was renewed for a four-year period. The funds still support city facilities and infrastructure as well as cultural projects; one such project is the Community Neighborhoods: Murals Program.

This program was created as a way to support public art, especially of local artists. Muralists from the Front Range are invited to apply to the program and are then listed on a roster of about 200 artists who are then paired with property owners who host the mural.

“Public art often is focused on downtown,” said Mandy Vink, the public art administrator. “This was another way to get creative investments out of just downtown Boulder.”

Vink said the Public Art Program has often found partnership opportunities with corporate and other public places--including underpasses--but that residential areas are a great opportunity for public art for multiple reasons. Not only do the residential murals bring a new sense of character to a neighborhood, but they also provide the opportunity for neighbors to get to know each other better.

“We want [residential property owners] to think, ‘What kind of art do I want to share with my neighbors, my community?’” she said. “By having creative opportunities like Creative Neighborhoods, it strengthens relationships throughout the neighborhood and then the city.”

For residential owners, part of the application process is reaching out to neighbors to ensure residents are on-board with the decision. With this mutual agreement, it is thought that interpersonal ties will increase and the community mindset will help the community become more resilient should events, like the 2013 flood or the current pandemic, arise again.

Vink and others with the Creative Neighborhoods program are optimistic that the mural program, in particular, will continue. One reason for this optimism is interest from Gunbarrel neighborhoods.

“Gunbarrel has always been an area of focus, but it has been a little tricky to find applicants there. There are just so many HOAs that (make it difficult). We tried to figure out which areas are still missing murals or public art investment,” Vink said. “There’s actually a muralist in Gunbarrel and she applied to do a mural, so it’s going to be on the city’s public infrastructure.”

The proposed Gunbarrel mural will be the underpass under Lookout Road, just east of Gunpark Drive. painted with wolves, honoring the 8 p.m. howl that honors the COVID workers. Vink said that the Creative Neighborhoods Program is enthusiastic about this particular mural because it is a very physical representation of the program’s expansion.

“We’re very excited about the opportunity to grow into our neighborhoods and not just be a downtown experience for our community.”

The 2020 program is still open for applications through July 15. For more information, please visit https://boulderarts.org/public-art/murals/creative-neighborhoods-mural-program/