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UW’s Public Art Policy Formalized

The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees has formalized a public art policy that's been informally in effect since 2012. The policy creates the President’s Public Art Committee, which is made up of five members from art and non-art departments on campus. The Committee is responsible for reviewing art works proposed for installation on and around campus, and providing recommendations. The UW President, in consultation with the President of the Trustees makes the final call.

The Committee was established after a sculpture called Carbon Sink drew criticism from the energy industry and members of the state legislature. It was ultimately removed early from campus. Some university affiliates have expressed concern that the committee’s work could compromise academic freedom. But the Committee's chairman, Chris Boswell, says it will do no such thing.     

“I think what you wind up with is people thinking that the Public Art Committee is there to block. I think the Public Art Committee is there to facilitate. And that’s not semantics,” says Boswell.

He says it will encourage more public art. 

“How many installations have there been on campus in the last few years? Not that many. And the intent is try to get more  and to perhaps remind ourselves that we can go beyond the typical bronze statue, that it’s perfectly reasonable to look at other unique expressions of art and innovation, research, scholarship, and all the rest,” he says. “I see it as an opportunity.” 

The next Committee meeting is scheduled for February 25th.

Irina Zhorov is a reporter for Wyoming Public Radio. She earned her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA from the University of Wyoming. In between, she worked as a photographer and writer for Philadelphia-area and national publications. Her professional interests revolve around environmental and energy reporting and she's reported on mining issues from Wyoming, Mexico, and Bolivia. She's been supported by the Dick and Lynn Cheney Grant for International Study, the Eleanor K. Kambouris Grant, and the Social Justice Research Center Research Grant for her work on Bolivian mining and Uzbek alpinism. Her work has appeared on Voice of America, National Native News, and in Indian Country Today, among other publications.
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