Dear Wheat Ridge Stakeholder,
We hope this letter finds you and your family well. While there has been talk about the benefit of public art to our City, there has not been a lot of movement to engage our citizens, our business community, our Cultural Commission or our local artists into the public art process. There are many tangible benefits and there is a lot of "pop" in public art.
The Mayor's Office, along with various volunteer citizens, has engaged local and Wheat Ridge artist
Kevin Robb to create a sculpture for public art. To purchase the sculpture, we are initiating a fundraising effort within our community. Our Cultural Commission will be determining the final sculpture through their established processes. The Cultural Commission has developed a short list of locations within the City and will also be determining the final location for the sculpture that will have most visibility and "pop" for our community.
We have committed to raise $50,000 to purchase the sculpture through private and public donations. We have also engaged the Wheat Ridge Foundation in this effort. The Wheat Ridge Foundation will safely hold the donations, similar to the process of funding the synthetic turf fields at Wheat Ridge High School. Contributions to the Foundation are
tax deductible.
We are asking you to help us raise the funds necessary for this outstanding public art project. If this effort is successful, there is no reason why we cannot build on this; and Wheat Ridge will develop a strong and well funded public art program. We need your help!
Our goal is to have the funds collected within one year or less of this kickoff campaign. The campaign was kicked off at the July 14 th City Council meeting. We have already personally donated to this cause to help prime the pump!
Please send your
tax deductible donation to:
Wheat Ridge Foundation
Attn: Mayor's Office
7500 W. 29 th Ave.
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
Check Payable to: Wheat Ridge Foundation
Check Memo: Public Art Campaign
We enthusiastically encourage you to help us raise personal and civic awareness, regarding the benefits of a public art program within our community. To paraphrase "Lakewood is Art" (
www.LakewoodisArt.com):
"
Beyond its enriching economic and personal benefits, public art is a true symbol of a city's maturity. It increases a community's assets and expresses a community's positive sense of identity. It helps green space thrive, enhances roadsides, pedestrian corridors, and community gateways; it demonstrates unquestionable civic and corporate pride in citizenship and affirms an educational environment. A city with public art is a city that thinks, feels and grows.
Why Public Art?
"The impact of public art on a community is priceless and immeasurable and once experienced it only appreciates. Public art has the power to energize our public spaces, arouse our thinking, and transform the places where we live, work, and play into more welcoming and beautiful environments that invite interaction. Public art can express community values, enhance our environment, transform a landscape, heighten our awareness, or question our assumptions. Placed in public sites, this art is there for everyone, a form of collective community expression."
Let's bring excitement to Wheat Ridge. The "
Train for Public Art" is leaving the station! Join the Effort! All aboard!
Please feel free to contact us with any questions. Thank you.
Jerry DiTullio
Mayor, City of Wheat Ridge
jerryditullio@comcast.net
Tom Abbott
2007 Wheat Ridge Volunteer of the Year
tomisabbott@aol.com