City of Bowie Approves Public Art Master Plan

The Bowie City Council has approved a Public Art Master Plan for the city, paving the way for more public art pieces to be commission, purchased and placed throughout the city.

The plan has four goals: Preserving and enriching the character of the community, improving the quality of life within the city, broadening the role of the artist in the community, fostering artistic creativity, and developing the image of the City as an arts destination.

Currently, the city of Bowie has four pieces of public art: Ham’s Shadow, the horse sculpture on Route 450; Blues Bird Brother in the Town Green Park; Triple Crown, the kinetic sculpture inside town hall; and the Monumental Sundial outside of town hall.

The Public Art Master Plan, as charted in December 2012, includes plans for several more public art installments starting in Fiscal Year 2013 through Fiscal Year 2018. According to the plan, the city Arts Committee used the following criteria when selecting potential locations for public art:

A site may be chosen for a variety of reasons, such as for its visibility or because the property presents an opportunity to display public art. It should be a high traffic area and accessible by pedestrians. Sites being considered include, but are not limited to, welcoming areas to the city frequented by visitors such as public buildings, parks, and other town centers where people walk and gather.

Attached to this article is a “wish list” of potential public art spaces in Bowie, including a proposed mural at the boathouse at Allen Pond Park, a wall mounted sculpture for city hall, a sculpture for the rock garden at city hall and a music component for a Bowie playground. The total funds requested for proposed public art projects is $118,000 over five years. All projects will be subject to available funding and Council approval.

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