Colorado’s Public Art Collection in the Public Art Archive

Anyone who has spent time in Denver knows that you are mere steps away from experiencing a work of public art no matter where you go–there are hundreds of pieces in the city, and even more throughout the state. Colorado’s Art in Public Places Program (AIPP) has successfully commissioned or purchased over 400 works of art for the state. But what you probably didn’t know is that soon you will be able to view Colorado’s entire public art collection online, including works from several rural communities! The collection, developed and administered by Colorado Creative Industries, is being added to The Public Art Archive™ now.

The Public Art Archive™, a project of Denver-based arts nonprofit WESTAF, aims to document all of the public art in the U.S. and eventually the world. The Archive began cataloging public art in 2009, with the help of each public art program, and has since grown to include works from 15 states, 32 public art collections, and currently houses more than 2,000 total artworks. The Archive also allows you to find public artworks on your mobile device when you’re out and about by visiting PublicArtArchive.org. The mobile site locates you and then displays artworks near you on a map or list. You can even access information about a piece while standing right next to it (how did you get here, big blue bear?), discover the artist who created work, take a photo of yourself in front of it, and share it with your social networks.

Colorado’s public art collection will be available in the Public Art Archive™ in September, and works from Stapleton and the federal program managed by the General Services Administration are coming later this fall. But you don’t have to wait until then to see hundreds of Colorado’s public artworks. Right now you can view collections in the database from the City and County of Denver (managed by the public art program of Arts and Venues Denver), and the Regional Transportation District art-in-transit.

The Archive project encourages submissions of public art from commissioning agencies here and from public artists here. For more information, contact Project Lead Rachel Cain at PAArchive@WESTAF.org.