Murals attracting attention and customers.
Resources
Beautification and Arts and Sciences Coordinator Cristen Crujido oversees not just BIA grants but also manages the city’s public art collection – murals, sculptures, installations, mosaics and, thanks to BBB (Bed, Board & Beverage tax) revenues, the list is growing. It’s work she’s well acquainted with, having spent more than 20 years in the non-profit arts. To her, the value is clear.
“It builds incredible relationships in the community, fosters ownership and place, inspires playfulness, greens the environment – the intrinsic worth is priceless,” she said. “Public art defines a place and helps a community decide what it can be. We have incredibly rich and diverse legacies here – Indigenous, Latino, Black – and public art reflects these histories, identities and varied experiences,” such as in a BIA-funded mini-mural by Jay Gallegos depicting the Sunnyside neighborhood and its culture.
She adds that the most valuable part is in the name: “Public art is truly public,” Crujido said, “free to experience, 24/7, 365 days a year. You don’t have to visit a gallery or museum, it’s accessible to everyone.” To that end, the city’s three-person department is busy – launching the new round of grant funding, documenting the city’s public (and even some private) works in a database, updating a downloadable map that’s free at the Visitor’s Center and overseeing major installations at Pulliam Airport and the Library.
Absolute Bikes owner Ken Lane thought he’d done his part more than 15 years ago by hiring local artist Lyle Motley to create an original mural. “I just said it needs to have a bike in it,” he remembered. Motley was up on the wall for 10- to 12-hour days over six weeks. “One of the hardest things was people stopping him to talk,” Lane said with a laugh.
Almost $15,000 later, Lane had All From A Moment Alive. Its active cycling scene and colorful, swirling patterns makes it one of the town’s most recognizable artworks seen from Route 66. And maybe, he had something more. “It makes you think,” Lane said. “I love the message I get out of it – the freedom of being on a bike.”
Now, that message is in danger. With the stucco beneath the paint cracking, Absolute Bikes is in the process of injecting glue behind the mural and securing it to the wall, which could be another $5,000 to $10,000. Painting over would be far cheaper. Yet, Lane’s General Manager Kyle McKendree agrees with him on the value. “It’s one of the more photographed spots, we get tagged on social media all the time. Twice today, in fact.”
And the art may prevent a less desirable type of tagging, “The wall has been hit with graffiti only twice, where it happens to buildings nearby all the time.” McKendree said, then mused on the mural’s true value. “We really believe cycling is good for the community, especially with current road conditions and traffic. This is one way we show our commitment.”
As murals, sculptures, installations and the like prove their worth, the city is also broadening public art, opening grants beyond artists to non-profits, community organizations and public/private partnerships, as well as facilitating community gardens, pathways – even wrapping traffic utility boxes. Artist Kayley Quick helped select potential works, then won a commission of her own.
“Honestly, they paid pretty well,” Quick said. “I’ve been impressed with how the city put in funds comparable with what an artist ought to make for their work.” And the city’s investments – in all these ways of looking at them – are paying off. “The community reception has been really warm. Even in those moments of passing small bits of art, you feel like you belong, feel parts of yourself or feel connected to it. Even, ‘Hey, that’s someone I know who did that’ is really special in a small way.”
Small, yet invaluable. FBN
By Billy Miller, FBN
Beautification In Action Grant Application
Public Art and Beautification Opportunities, see the City of Flagstaff Official Website: https://www.flagstaff.az.gov/4411/Public-Art-and-Beautification-Opportunit
The City of Flagstaff’s Public Art Map
Time Lapse Video of Lyle Motley Creating All From A Moment Alive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqapmzDQRh0
Photo by Billy Miller: This mural on the side of Absolute Bikes called All From A Moment Alive, created by local artist Lyle Motley, is often photographed and shared on social media, drawing attention to the business.
