A new public art initiative in Cortez, the Streetscapes Art Park, is set to debut this fall, backed by a grant from the LOR Foundation awarded to the newly combined Dolores and Cortez Rotary Clubs.
The project aims to continue building the art culture in Dolores and Cortez by nurturing local artists and providing an opportunity to showcase their art and win competitions.
The installation will be located at the intersection of Empire and Broadway, adjacent to the “Welcome to Cortez” sign. The art park’s initial phase will feature three V-shaped structures, each with two 16-foot-long by 9-foot-high arms, with other panels of various sizes and shapes inside the structure, to serve as a canvas for artists.
“The outside of the V is going to be big murals that are going to be subjected to an art contest,” Dolores Rotary Club’s Susan Lisak told The Journal. “The inside of each of the V’s is going to be open paint, meaning anybody from the public can show up and just grab a panel and start painting. And they'll be all different kinds of shapes and sizes on the inside, the outside will probably be similar sizes. And it might be horizontal one contest, and then vertical the other contest. The outside panels are bigger so that they can be seen from the road as people drive by.”
The exterior panels will showcase murals created through a competitive art contest held three times annually, excluding the winter quarter to avoid harsh weather. These contests will award $1,000 for first place, $500 for second and additional prizes for third and fourth. The winners will also be able to sell their artwork through a dedicated website that will help connect artists with buyers. Creators will be able to sell their work without the project taking a commission.
“It’s going to build that community of artists, to get existing artists on board, and then to build up the younger generation to be able to build to be able to paint these larger panels,” Lisak said. “Then the inside for the open paint area is to start artists young and get them used to painting on bigger canvases and get their name out there as people recognize their art and put their name on it to be able to then build up that community.”
The website, which will soon be finished, is www.streetscapesartpark.com.
“We’re letting the artists be able to figure out what they want to do when their panel is finished, and same thing for the open paint area. If a kid really paints a fantastic piece of art and somebody says, ‘Hey, I want to pay you 300 bucks for it,’ then they can make that transaction. All we ask is that you replace that panel,” Lisak said. “Whoever, either the buyer or the seller, replaces the panel. We’re hoping that builds a community. You’re connecting buyers and sellers. You're having tourists come through that might have some more money to be able to spend, and then you have the artists that have a place to be able to express themselves.”
The art park will also include a parking area for visitors, allowing them to explore and photograph the art installations.
The tentative opening of the park is sometime this fall, pending the processing of permits and the completion of the structure.
