By Maximus Vogt
The Ramspondents
From vibrant decoration on bronze sculptures to the chords of a painted piano, art surrounds Fort Collins.
At a city council meeting on Nov. 3, the council declared Nov. 8 as the 30th anniversary of the Art in Public Places (APP) program. An event on the night of the 8th honored the artists who have contributed their work to the program, as well as some of the program's highlights over the last 30 years.
Liz Good, the visual art coordinator for the city’s Cultural Services department, said that over three decades, the program has evolved from commissioning standalone artwork to a more integrated approach.
“Now, we use a design team model, which is one that we really like, where we select artists based on their qualifications for the project before the construction project even starts,” Good said.
Good said this approach means artists work alongside construction teams and architects from the beginning.
"So then it just kind of elevates the whole area rather than having like a sculpture that's added in later,” she said.
Good said one of her favorite accomplishments was the ongoing Transformer Cabinet Mural Projects. In 2006, Amelia Caruso painted six transformer cabinets in Tenney Court. Recently, as one of the cabinets was removed and replaced with a blank cabinet, Caruso returned to paint a new design titled “Sunset Over Horsetooth.”
Caruso’s “Sunset Over Horsetooth” in progress at Tenney Court.
The project, which serves as both beautification and graffiti mitigation, has become one of APP’s signature achievements.
“It's really fun because it was an electrical engineer who read an article about murals somewhere and how it cuts down the graffiti in the city because people were not tagging those areas,” Good said.
The idea proved successful.
“They don't get tagged once they’re painted,” Good said, adding that the cabinets are “selected based on areas that get a lot of graffiti, and then it cuts down on the mitigation costs for the utilities.”
In 2024, Terry McNerney painted the program's 400th transformer cabinet and his fifth cabinet since he began working on the project.
McNerney’s cabinet “Colorado Fishin’” is at the NE corner of Pitkin and Shields St.
Also highlighted was the Pianos About Town project that brings local artists to Old Town Square to paint pianos. The project is a collaboration between the city, the Bohemian Foundation and the Downtown Development Authority.
In 2018, the 100th piano mutual was painted by Karina Branson. Artists can be seen working on their pianos in Old Town Square from May through October, then the pianos are spread throughout the city and frequently rotated with new work.
Branson’s piano mural captures Fort Collins’ vibrant downtown scene.
Starting in 2023, the APP program brought local artists to begin painting temporary murals on stormwater drains with the intent to educate residents on their direct connection with the Poudre River. Good said programs like this are funded through a public utilities budget.
“Our funding is tied to capital projects, but utilities have a lot of projects where there isn't access to the public or they're not in an accessible area,” Good said. “They use a lot of their public art funding for education.”
Jennifer Ivanovic’s 2023 “Drains to the Poudre” stormwater drain design at Poudre River Whitewater Park. Image taken by the artist.
In the future, the program will be teaming up with the Oak Street Stormwater Improvements project that is working on a number of infrastructure projects along Oak St. to help resolve flooding issues in downtown Fort Collins.
Good said APP will be adding artwork by sculptor Mark Aeling into pocket parks that are created by the infrastructure project.
"The artist is creating sculptures that kind of illustrate different qualities of water," Good said.
Good described pieces, including a water droplet, a funnel of swirling water and a seed pod. The sculptures show "...the water itself, like kind of creating these visualizations of the processes of water and how controlling the water has kept it harmonious within the city."
A notable gateway to Fort Collins at the I-25 and Prospect Rd interchange will also see new artwork by artist Stephan Shachtman. At the interchange, Shachtman’s “Forest Stand” will include 18 stylized metal trees ranging in height from 12 feet to 22 feet.
“The goal of the artwork is to reflect the identity of Fort Collins, welcome both visitors and residents and integrate seamlessly with the surrounding landscape architecture to form a cohesive vision.” APP’s website stated.
A virtual illustration of the project by City of Fort Collins and Stephan Shachtman
Good emphasized that public art has become central to Fort Collins' identity.
"Fort Collins is a really pretty place to live," she said. "Once the city is pretty, people want to work to keep it a beautiful place."
Maximus Vogt is an art history major and journalism minor at CSU, active in fine art happenings on campus. He is interested in the intersection of art, community and news.
A portion of Fossil Creek Trail will be closed due to stream rehabilitation efforts
Bailey Borkowski
The Ramspondents
On Tuesday, Nov. 18, the city of Fort Collins will temporarily close part of the Fossil Creek Trail. This portion will run between Trilby Road and Carpenter Road – also known as Highway 392. The closure is expected to continue until March 31, 2026.
This closure is due to stream rehabilitation along Stanton Creek in order to create a more sustainable channel. The main goals for this project are to bring back proper plants, install erosion control, and create a channel that accommodates and restores proper vegetation. After the rehabilitation the channel will be able to accommodate low water flows through the winter months, irrigation flows between April and September, and the rare 100 year storm where major flooding could occur.
Fort Collins encourages trail users to use alternative paths such as Trilby Road, Lemay Avenue, or Carpenter Road. Signage will also be posted to help hikers, bikers, or runners navigate around the closure.
Bailey Borkowski is the station manager at CTV 11 and a journalism student at Colorado State University who focuses on reporting the full and accurate truth and keeping the Fort Collins community informed.