The city may not buy new public art in 2017.
In the proposed budget presented Friday, no money is proposed for new professional art pieces, Assistant to the City Manager Sherri Dugdale said.
However, the city applied for a grant to pay for new art at the U.S. Highway 550/160 intersection.
The city also is working with the Durango School District 9-R on a youth art program, she said.
The intersection was home to the controversial Arc of History, which was removed this fall.
The city spent $24,000 on three new sculptures this year, a fish, a dancer and a drummer, and but they did not generate the same public outcry.
The city is including an arts and culture component in its comprehensive plan for the first time this year, and this could lay a foundation for an arts and culture master plan in 2018.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
