Experiments in Public Art: The Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan Update

Through the Experiments in Public Art program, the City of Boulder has been embedding artists in the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP) Major Update, which kicked off in 2024. This project is a collaboration between the Planning and Development Services Department and the Office of Arts and Culture in the Community Vitality Department.

The BVCP, updated every ten years, is the city and county’s primary long-term policy guide for the Boulder Valley. Experiments in Public Art: The BVCP Update will integrate artists into communications and community engagement for the update. Artists add value to planning processes: they can help illuminate and humanize aspects of the plan; visualize, embody and create works of art to explain complicated information; diversify and elevate the voices and perspectives that are engaged in the process; and help us celebrate Boulder’s identity now and envision where we want to be in 20 years.

Experiments in Public Art: The BVCP Update is being organized with support from consulting firm More Sky, Less Ceiling.

Motus Theater engaged in several iterations of “Playback Theater” at public venues with a wide range of attendees at the beginning of the planning process. These events invited community members to share personal reflections and hopes for Boulder’s future. Then, Motus’ talented group of improv actors transformed these stories into performances using movement, music, and spoken word. The sessions were video recorded for an archival artifact. These events allowed for a new way to reflect and engage in visioning for the Comprehensive Plan, and gave participants a chance to:

• Shape Boulder’s Future: Stories and input helped guide themes and recommendations for the Comprehensive Plan.
• See Stories Come to Life: Actors interpreted submissions, offering a moving experience for both storytellers and audience members.
• Build Community: Through theater, participants explored diverse perspectives and sparked meaningful dialogue.
• Rethink Engagement: These events reimagined how local government listens to and learns from the community.

Image Credit: Lan Vo Photography

As part of the City of Boulder’s Experiments in Public Art series and the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan update, the city hired illustrator Cal Brackin to turn complex planning information into clear, engaging illustrations. His artwork helps communicate important information on the state of Boulder’s transportation, health and wellness, public safety, environmental sustainability, governance, and economic resilience.

These playful illustrations are included in a children’s book called Boulder’s Big Adventure. The book helps families learn about the city planning process through fun images and easy-to-understand descriptions. The city continues to use the illustrations in its communications and presentations.

As part of the City of Boulder’s Experiments in Public Art series, artists Becky Wareing Steele and Shannon Geis are collaborating with the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan team for Boulder’s first Community Assembly. Their project, Personal Geographies, presents an innovative, process-based approach to community engagement through community stories and artistic interpretation.

Personal Geographies will draw inspiration from the observations of the discussions that take place during the assembly. The artists will also conduct one-on-one interviews with assembly members to gather their perspectives on the ideas explored in the assembly. These observations and conversations will inform the creation of a series of small-scale, portable, mixed-media sculptures accompanied by edited audio pieces. The goal of the project is to artfully reflect the personal connections people have to place and elevate those voices within the broader context of city planning and the comprehensive plan update.

As part of the City of Boulder’s Experiments in Public Art series and the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan update, local artist Chris Carruth is collaborating with the Comprehensive Plan engagement team on a project called Voicing Boulder, available both in person and online.

This participatory project invites Boulder community members from July to October 2025 to explore their current realities while imagining possible futures, using the PhotoVoice method as a bridge between what is and what could be. PhotoVoice is an artistic and civic engagement practice in which participants photograph places, objects, or scenes that reflect their lived experience and civic concerns - then pair these images with short speculative texts or audio recordings that express hopes, solutions, and visions for change.

Voicing Boulder supports the Prioritizing Conversations phase of the Comprehensive Plan engagement process - a space where community voices help shape the big ideas guiding Boulder’s future.

The BVCP includes over 200 policies with a 20-year outlook on issues like land use, transportation, housing, climate action, and community well-being. This update focuses on identifying a small number of bold, transformative “Big Ideas” that respond directly to the values and priorities of Boulder’s people.

These Big Ideas will be evaluated for potential benefits, trade-offs, and long-term impacts. Through small-group conversations, facilitated by city staff and professional community organizers, residents will be asked to help weigh options, consider the complexities of policymaking, and identify what’s worth prioritizing or preserving.

The goal of the Voicing Boulder project is to creatively amplify these conversations, offering a visual and emotional bridge between personal experience and public policy.

The fifth and final artist in the series will create a mural that will memorialize the 2025 update to the Comprehensive Plan update for its 20-year horizon. Please view the mural roster to see the list of artists who may be chosen for this project. Stay tuned to the city’s social media channels and this page for updates. Location will be announced by mid-2026.