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.