Gabrielle Johnston, Office of Communications | 303-692-2007 | gabi.johnston@state.co.us
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 9, 2019
DENVER - Eight artists have been chosen for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s statewide mural project, and artwork already is popping up across the state.
The murals will depict the findings of a recent health and environmental assessment, which is used to shape the state’s public health improvement plan. The state health department obtained a grant to fund the murals and provide a visual of health and the environment in local communities.
Artist Emanel Martinez is the first to complete a mural. His work, located at the Fraser Valley Shopping Center in Frasier, is called “Save the World” and depicts people of all races and nationalities working together to save the world from global warming. Additional grant recipients and mural locations include:
|
Grant recipient
|
Location
|
|
Heleen Koekemoer
|
TBD | Evergreen
|
|
Robyn Frances
|
Glenarm Recreation Center | Denver
|
|
Maria Cocchiarelli-Berger
|
Walsenburg
|
|
Brian Elyo
|
Knobhill Neighborhood | Colorado Springs
|
|
Matte Refic
|
Arkansas River Levee | Pueblo
|
|
Seth Weber
|
Colorado Discover Ability Center | Grand Junction
|
|
Kristin Carpenter
|
Otero County Courthouse| Otero County
|
“It’s so much fun to see public health priorities come to life through art,” said Deborah Monaghan, CDPHE’s interim director of the Office of Planning, Partnerships and Improvement. “The issues we work on affect real people in real ways, and these artists can help bring us together to find solutions.”
Redline Contemporary Art Center awarded the department the competitive "Arts in Society" grant of $25,000 to fund the innovative project.
The department’s Mural Action Team, which includes artists, public health professionals and community members, chose projects based on:
-
Accessibility: High-visibility locations easily viewable by the public.
-
Ecological friendliness.
-
Contemporary relevance:
-
Geographically, socio-culturally and historically relevant.
-
Feasibility: Completed by Dec. 31, 2019.
-
Permanence: Lasting a minimum of five years.
-
Local connection: Artist must have lived in Colorado for five years.
-
Representation of the state’s 2018 Health and Environment Assessment.