Murals Plan

The purpose of the City of Albuquerque Murals Plan is to provide a framework for consideration of murals proposed for public funding. After community discussion of the issues described below, a concept plan was prepared. In late Spring 1992, the plan was presented to the participants of the Third New Mexico Murals Conference, members of the Albuquerque Arts Board and appropriate City personnel. It was also presented to local muralists in a follow-up session, which took place at the South Broadway Cultural Center on June 23rd, 1992. The following Plan incorporates the comments and ideas gathered from the conference participants. In the coming months, the Albuquerque Arts Board is expected to review the plan and recommend revisions.

Assessment of The Issues And Options in The Development of a Murals Program For Albuquerque

1. The History and Advantages of Murals in Albuquerque

• For centuries, murals have been an important public art forum to Native American and Hispanic cultures. This plan seeks to build on that heritage.
• Appropriate murals can be large, colorful and a valuable way to enhance the built environment, often providing a significant, positive aesthetic impact with modest public investment.
• Another significant public benefit can be derived from the process of creating murals. When planned properly, the process can be a valuable social/educational experience by involving young people, the disadvantaged, the homeless, those involved with gangs, students from classes which focus on community based instruction, special education, etc.
• Murals that deal with social, cultural and political issues are a valuable form of public education, if they are presented in an appropriate context.
• Art education in local schools needs to be supported. Many in the educational community as well as the general public need to be better informed about the value of art education. The process of creating a mural has many facets, many of which lend themselves to a variety of educational experiences including math, measurement, color schemes, history, self-expression, etc.

2. Issues which have Impeded the Development of Murals in Albuquerque

• Negative attitudes about the strong social and political content in murals which were produced in New Mexico in the late 1960's and early 1970's contributed to a public backlash.
• Hesitation of owners of private buildings or directors of public or private facilities to have murals placed on the buildings because of their "irreversible" nature.
• Financing of murals may be a problem, because the City does not have a program that can easily incorporate both private and public funds in the commissioning of murals.
• Individual muralists may encourage the creation of murals with the director of a public facility, but then identify themselves to execute the mural, thereby bypassing the open public competition processes for artist selection.

3. Options for Addressing Existing Issues

• Following are some options for addressing existing issues. It is essential, however, that all possibilities for action be discussed and refined collaboratively by the muralists, the public and appropriate city personnel.
• Develop a "modular" framework for murals, e.g., 4' x 8' per panel; murals could range from one to six or eight panels as desired.
• Develop a "murals lending program" which would allow these modular murals to be moved easily, thus making them portable. The commitment of a private property owner or public facility director would be limited to installing the brackets for the artwork. Murals could be changed to suit the times, at the request of the property owner or City department.
• Encourage the development of a non-profit murals/muralists organization capable of applying for and receiving funds from various sources to assist in the development and execution of a murals program.
• Identify sites which could be used for community murals where target groups could work with an artist in executing murals.
• Develop a variety of funding sources for the different opportunities that may arise, including opportunities in the public sector (e.g., 1% for Art,) and opportunities in public/private sector partnership (e.g., Urban Enhancement.)
• Develop a framework for involving young people, the homeless, the under served, or other community/neighborhood groups etc. in the creation of murals.
• Identify sites where "tabloid" murals could be displayed for a limited time, particularly sites that deal with social, cultural, historical and political issues.

Goals for the Albuquerque Murals Program

In developing the Murals Program for Albuquerque, it was important that a number of goals be recognized as overriding concerns to provided direction for specific projects as regards the creative process, the location, thematic concerns and so forth.

• The City of Albuquerque shall plan and execute an on-going murals program that recognizes the broader guidelines for the City's Public Art Program.
• The City will work with other public agencies and the private sector to implement a murals program for Albuquerque.
• The City, through the development and implementation of a murals program, will pursue diversification of themes and styles of murals, including but not limited to, themes and styles that focus on contemporary issues; neighborhood resources and concerns; the history and cultures of Albuquerque and New Mexico and visions of our community's future. Stylistically, a variety of mural techniques will be encouraged, including artist designed/site specific murals; graffiti or street art murals; trompe l'oeil murals; sculptural murals; and murals executed in a variety of media.
• The City will encourage the development of projects which involve citizens, and particularly young people, in the execution of murals.
• The City will pursue the planning and execution of murals in all geographic areas of the community, pending neighborhood approval of the designs and processes for involving youth or other residents in the creation of the murals.
• The City will develop an inventory of murals in Albuquerque to include documentation on the development, theme and artist(s) of each mural, the title, year of execution, media, and maintenance instructions.

Tabloid/Modular Murals (i.e., portable murals with the mural panels and sites having standard mounting hardware or free-standing portable murals)

The term tabloid mural refers to murals that address contemporary social, cultural, political and environmental issues that face the Albuquerque metropolitan area, the state, the nation or our world in general. It is suggested that such a series of murals be created and moved periodically from facility to facility to provide an appropriate context for them and a broad base for the presentation of these contemporary art ideas to the public. Communities are always given the opportunity to vote on the desirability of displaying a tabloid/modular mural. (The successful implementation of this approach requires resolution of various technical problems including the size of such panels and their construction.)

Various City facilities may subscribe to the Murals Lending Program by commissioning one mural. While the mural commissioned would move from the primary facility after an agreed time period, the brackets would remain on the wall and another mural in the same modular format could be installed. At some point it may be decided to permanently mount a modular mural.

Community Murals

Arroyo Murals Projects - One of the concerns of the City and its residents is to provide activities that involve young people, including especially those who are considered "at risk" youth, or who have other asset or resource limitations. The City is also concerned about graffiti messages ("tags") that mar the built environment.

The Arroyo Murals Project will involve muralists focused on creating murals that involve youth. The venue for the murals would be the highly visible cemented arroyos, arroyo bridges, retaining walls and other related facilities. The muralist(s) would be commissioned to work with young people to provide artistic direction, including development of the design for the mural. The Artist may also provide limited supervision of the youth participating in the respective project.

Neighborhood Community Murals Projects - Murals located at other sites in the community need to be executed in a similar manner. The muralist(s) may work with neighborhood youth, or other targeted population groups. These projects should be developed in all areas of the community and should address the particular issues and resources of the neighborhood or community. The activity of creating a mural can provide a "coping mechanism" for both individuals and the larger community to help deal with issues including high crime rates, poverty, homelessness, anti-litter, anti-drug or anti-graffiti campaigns. Community Centers or other appropriate community facilities could be the initial sites for such projects.