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Lakewood council adopts 10-year 'Connect, Discover, Create' public art plan
Summary
The Lakewood City Council unanimously adopted the Connect, Discover, Create public art plan on March 24, 2025, approving a community-driven, roughly 10-year guide to public art implementation that prioritizes geographic equity, artist diversity and place-making.
Lakewood City Council on March 24 unanimously adopted the Connect, Discover, Create public art plan, a community-driven, aspirational guide to public art in the city for the next decade.
The plan, presented by Michelle Nierling, Heritage, Culture and Arts division manager, Lane Godsey, arts programming curator, and consultants from Their Squared, recommends four core concepts: creating transformative art destinations, unifying public-art decision-making, diversifying the artistic landscape and increasing community engagement. "This is an aspirational guide for the future of public art in Lakewood following a 20 month, community inspired planning process," Nierling said during the presentation.
City staff said the plan replaces Lakewood's 2013 public art master plan and is meant to guide programming, siting and maintenance decisions across departments, and to align with the 2023 Imagine Tomorrow plan's equity and access priorities. "The first core concept is to create transformative art destinations throughout Lakewood," Alexis Moore, principal planner, said, describing strategies that include placemaking, developer incentives and prioritizing areas identified as "art deserts." Jill Stilwell of Their Squared said community engagement was central: "We did have approximately 1,500 people at our best guess" participate in outreach and surveys.
Council members asked about implementation details during the presentation. Mayor Pro Tem Shaharzai asked how the Lakewood Public Art Committee is constituted; Michelle Nierling said it is an all-volunteer panel created after the 2013 plan to give residents a voice and that staff plan to refine terms and representation going forward. "These members are to represent all five wards," Nierling added.
Staff outlined near-term projects tied to the plan, including artwork incorporated into the Colfax Safety Improvement Project, an aesthetics package for the Sixth and Wadsworth project, the rotating Art on the Commons sculpture exhibition, utility box wraps in each ward and a range of small temporary projects. Lane Godsey said the plan will be implemented through the city's annual budget process and by seeking grant and partnership opportunities.
The council voted to adopt resolution R2025-12 to formalize the plan; the motion passed unanimously, 7-0.
The adopted plan will now serve as a framework for the city's public art priorities and project selection processes and will guide staff coordination across departments for siting, maintenance and programming decisions.
