Public Art

Creative Alliance Manitou Springs published a public art survey for residents and business owners to provide input on public art in late May 2022. Advertised in person at City Hall, in the Pikes Peak Bulletin and on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Nextdoor, the purpose was to gauge levels of support and attitudes toward the current collection and seek input on new acquisitions. The survey was open for eight weeks and received 223 responses with 50% of the respondents representing Manitou Springs residents.

Based on the survey results, the Manitou Springs community of residents and business owners’ views public art as primarily providing a positive impact on quality of life with specific input on art being a mood booster that creates a sense of place/civic pride unique to the city. Respondents would like to see more public art and generally support investment in art east of Highway 24 to enhance the commercial district streetscapes currently funded by the Urban Renewal Authority. As the public art entity for the community, CRANE sees recommendations for attention to murals, maintenance, and more rotation as guidance for future programming and projects.