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Staff accepts two changed BIA murals; commission urges clearer rules for design changes
Summary
Two artist-funded murals submitted under the city's BIA grant program were accepted after finished works differed from approved sketches. Commissioners praised the finished murals but raised concerns that artists made significant changes without notifying staff; staff said it will update grant language and applicant guidance.
City staff told the Visual and Public Art Commission on July 14 that two BIA-funded murals were completed in forms that differed from the designs the artists originally submitted but that staff accepted the finished pieces and authorized payment.
Corey (staff) reported that Lonnie Weiss relocated her mural originally proposed for the Flagstaff Library to the Canyon Inn Motel on Milton, and that the completed work includes elements and a layout that differ from the submitted sketch. The commission was shown the finished mural and asked to comment.
Corey also reported that artist Joel Geist altered his design for a mural at Sheep's Crossing: Geist removed the dendroglyph (aspen-carving) elements he had proposed, made "eyes of the aspens" a central motif and added carefully stacked rocks (cairns). Geist provided an explanation that he considered the revised composition more poetic and that the aspen carvings would have been redundant with the new stacked-rock element.
"We went ahead and, you know, accepted these murals. Yeah. And we, you know, I authorized payment for the artist," a staff member told the commission during the meeting.
Commission discussion mixed praise and concern. Several commissioners said they liked the finished work and were likely to have approved the pieces, but multiple commissioners said they were surprised that the artists made substantial design changes without notifying staff or the commission before installation. Commissioners raised specific concerns about environmental impacts of stacked-rock cairns (which can be discouraged in natural areas because they can damage habitat and encourage off-trail use) and about whether the revised designs properly acknowledged Basque cultural references intended in the original proposal.
Staff told the commission it will revise BIA grant application and award language to clarify when artists must notify staff of design or site changes and to set expectations for substantial departures from approved proposals. Staff also said it will circulate the revised language in time to inform the next grant cycle and that a new application deadline is approaching on Sept. 15.
No formal reprimands or rework orders were issued. Instead, staff accepted both finished murals and authorized final payment, while flagging the need for clearer rules and better communication to future grantees.
Commissioners asked staff to bring suggested application-language changes back to the commission for review before the next grant round. Staff agreed to draft clearer guidance on when changes require pre-approval and to add that language to future award letters and grant agreements.
