Bryce Martin / bmartin@skyhinews.com
The recent Mural Festival, initiated and managed by the Granby Chamber, became a hot topic in the Town of Granby recently.
The theme of the event was “Drawing from the Beauty of the Colorado Mountains, our Unique Wildlife and the State’s Colorful Art Scene.”
The concept that was presented to the Town Board was that the art would keep with the mountain and wildlife theme of last year’s mural, which received many positive reviews.
This year, many like the murals, and others don’t feel the murals fit the theme presented to the Board. (I feel that some of the murals do not fit the theme presented, but there are still some murals I really do like.)
Art is subjective and there will always be issues of some liking what others do not. That’s why we need a Public Art Policy, so that public art can be chosen by the citizens of that community.
Since its founding in 1905, Granby has never had an art policy.
Moving forward, the town of Granby will now adopt a Public Art Policy. We’ll seek volunteers to serve as a Public Art Committee. The Public Art Committee will then be required to hold public meetings so that the citizens can choose what art they want to see in their community or not.
I imagine that the committee would manage things like holding public workshops, voting on a theme and making sure that is what is displayed, length of time for art to be displayed, being sure to include local artists in the process, etc. This is how most communities manage public art.
The town will be presenting a draft of the Public Art Policy and the possible formation of a Public Art Committee at our July 23 meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. I would appreciate all who are interested to participate in the conversation and the committee. We also have the public comments section at the beginning of every meeting, and we really do appreciate your participation.
We have such a great community and have made great strides in so many areas, let’s work together to make the community even better. Thank you!
— Paul Chavoustie, mayor of Granby