Carmel unveils interactive public-art story map, staff to keep catalog current

The Mayor's Advisory Commission on Arts on Oct. 13 heard a presentation of a new public-facing “story map” that catalogs the City of Carmel’s city-owned public art and provides mobile-friendly walking tours, commission leaders said.

Commission staff said the story map supplements the citywide Public Art Master Plan by making the city’s official inventory of artworks accessible online, adding interactive walking tours, larger informational pages for individual pieces and a data dashboard for longer descriptions. CRC director Henry Mestetsky and Shane Burnham of the Department of Engineering led the demonstration, with Larissa Gillespie credited for most written content.

“Mestetsky said the story map is the main landing page for all of our public art” and that the link is public. Shane Burnham demonstrated the map’s features, showing how the page sequences artworks by numbered points on a map, opens large images and metadata for each piece, and offers mobile-optimized tours with a “Find My Location” cursor and map rotation to follow a user’s walking direction. Burnham told commissioners the product is “mobile friendly” and that he built the map in-house to avoid consultant fees.

Commissioners asked about usability improvements for older users and noted recent iterations added clearer labeling for map points. Staff explained the story map displays a short description (about “a sentence or two”) for each piece on the main interface and links to a data dashboard with longer descriptions and categorical filters (murals, projection mapping, architecture and sculptures, roundabouts). The map includes two prebuilt tours: a 1-mile downtown/Old Town art walk and a separate City Center tour; staff noted the 1-mile walk connects directly to a half-mile walk to allow longer routes.

Staff said the story map is intended to be the city’s authoritative inventory of public art; previous public catalogs hosted on the Hamilton County tourism website included works the city does not maintain (for example, privately maintained murals inside a Jiffy Lube). Commissioners and staff said they will coordinate with Hamilton County tourism to ensure the city’s official pieces are represented there as well.

Commission staff said the site will be linked from the commission’s page and other places on the city website, and that a press release is planned. Burnham said the back end is a simple table that staff can edit and that the map is “plug and play,” allowing designated users to add new works as they are approved and installed. Commissioners emphasized the work was done in-house and encouraged a coordinated public unveiling and inclusion in tourism materials.

During other business, staff announced arts grant applications will be available later in the month and that the commission is targeting a Dec. 10 deadline for sending grant recommendations to the mayor. The meeting concluded with a motion and second to adjourn.