Denver Arts & Venues Invites Denver Residents To Share Their Selfies To Celebrate 30 Years Of Denver Public Art

Denver Arts & Venues invites Denverites to help celebrate the 30th anniversary of Denver Public Art, a program which sets aside 1% of every municipal capital improvement project over $1M for the creation of public art.

Denver residents and visitors are invited to share photos and videos through social media using the hashtag #DenverPublicArt30.

"The Denver Public Art collection is an anchor of the city's cultural landscape," Mayor Michael B. Hancock said. "This will be a celebration that encourages residents and visitors to engage with and celebrate the collection by finding and interacting with some of Denver's iconic artworks, as well as those pieces located in their own neighborhoods."

The social media campaign will encourage people to focus on 15 themes - two per month - and 30 favorite photographs from these posts will be displayed at the end of the year at Buell Theatre. Favorites will be selected by Denver Arts & Venues staff and Denver artists. All submissions will be highlighted on PublicArtDenver.com.

"There are some pieces in the collection that everyone recognizes," says Denver Public Art Manager, Michael Chavez, "but by identifying themes, we hope people will seek out the art hidden in plain sight."

Monthly themes are as follows:

• February: Love, and African American History and Heritage
• March: Art in Cold Weather, and Women's History and Heritage
• April: Animal Art, and Public Art Selfies
• May: Memorials and Statues, and Asian and Pacific American History and Heritage
• June: Summer-Time Art (Picnics and Park Fun), and Find Art in Your Neighborhood
• July: Denver International Airport Collection, and Light or Kinetic Art
• August: Urban Arts Fund, and Indoor Art
• September: Latino and Hispanic History and Heritage

In addition to the public art funding ordinance which was created in 1988, the Denver Public Art Collection of more than 400 pieces includes several donated artworks, many of which are more than 100 years old. Denver Public Art also offers free, year-round tours in addition to other Public Art related events, and manages the Urban Arts Fund (celebrating its 10th anniversary this year).