City Government
Boise Artists Are All Losers At City Hall
December 6, 2011 
Boise eagerly recruits out of town businesses and when it comes to public art that’s exactly what they got.
Boise’s artists were all shunned by a city committee selecting public art for the new City Hall remodel project. Not a single Idaho artist, let alone a Boise artist is being considered as a finalist.
Some 44 artists applied for a grant to create public art for the City Hall Plaza. The committee has narrowed the field to three. They hail from Texas, New York, and Seattle. Below is the form letter sent to all the local losers whose work will not appear in the city. So much for “Buy Idaho” and local preference for vendors.
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Comments & Discussion
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© 2011 Boise Guardian. 
Dec 6, 2011, 6:34 pm
So what’s wrong with a 50 ft tall statute of Dave Beiter?
Dec 6, 2011, 7:29 pm
Talk about “outsourcing”!!! So many great artists here – What happened to “Buy Local”? So So Sad….
Dec 6, 2011, 8:27 pm
You have to remember that the most – if not all – the panel were likely “newbies” to Boise so they defaulted to what they know – – only stuff from out of town.
Dec 7, 2011, 12:04 am
Maybe that’s what Boiseans should do in the next city elections — turn down any candidates from Boise, and outsource the City Council and mayor jobs to Texas or maybe India. Might be worth a try.
Dec 7, 2011, 10:47 am
Why are Boise taxpayers even funding “art” projects at a time like this, when we need to cut the budget?
Dec 7, 2011, 1:33 pm
There never was a “true” Buy Idaho. it was a feel good notion for political gain when it was first portrayed in the media.
Dec 7, 2011, 3:24 pm
Hopefully they consider local artist in the future.
http://www.boiseartsandhistory.org/opportunities/call-to-artists/
Dec 8, 2011, 9:31 am
They should more than concider local in the future. It should be a REQUIREMENT. If they can’t find local art they are just not looking hard enough
Here is some info you can use.
Lets not let this happen again.
Demand Local
Karen Bubb, Public Arts Manager
Phone: (208) 433-5677
Email: [email protected]
Dec 8, 2011, 10:15 am
Received from an artist friend… “FYI- All City art projects under $24,000 go to local artists. For those over that amount, a call is put out to local, regional and national artists. A selection committee comprised of a cross section of Boise representatives, government officials, artists, etc. reviews the applicants and makes a decision. So bottom line, all the traffic box art you have seen ARE local artists. The new one’s will be too.”
EDITOR NOTE–Does this mean the locals get the small stuff, but the big money goes out of state?
Dec 8, 2011, 12:57 pm
Boise just wants to be a big kid now and have big kid artists in the playground.