BOISE — Seattle-based public artist and public art project manager Kristen Ramirez has been selected to design a mural in celebration of the Boise River Greenbelt’s 50th Anniversary.
The mural, which officials say is the first of its kind on the pathway, will be located along the Fairview Bridge underpass retaining walls.
“I believe that encounters with murals open people up to a collective experience that can elevate the daily experience and bring identity to a place,” said Ramirez. “I also believe in the history of murals as sites for bringing civic pride and a sense of place to a community.”
Ramirez will travel to Boise twice. On Wednesday, July 17, 2019, from 6 to 8 p.m., community members are invited to join her at the site of the future mural (1900 W Fairview Ave.) to sketch, discuss and contribute ideas. The artist will travel to Boise again in August of this year to complete the mural in time for the 50th Anniversary celebrations on September 19-21, 2019.
“My projects are often firmly rooted in the communities where they live,” she said. “I love working with, interviewing, and observing community members to both ideate and develop design direction.”
Ramirez was selected through a competitive process open to artists. A panel of community stakeholders, including an artist, an arts professional, members of the Arts and History Commission and Arts and History Advisory Team, as well as city staff, reviewed 31 applications before awarding her the commission.
The total project cost is $15,000, funded by the City of Boise.
Ramirez, who serves as an Art and Enhancements Project Manager with the City of Seattle Office of Arts and Culture/Department of Transportation, has created works in sites like the Boise underpass, the Wayne Tunnel on the Burke-Gilman Trail in Bothell, Washington, and a mural commissioned by the United Way of Columbia-Willamette in downtown Portland, Oregon.
