As part of a series of enhancements that were made to the North Boulder neighborhood, the City of Boulder’s Community Vitality Department commissioned new artwork at two bus shelters along north Broadway Ave., at the bridge over the bike lanes near Rosewood Ave. and at the bus stop at Violet Ave. Artist Sharon Dowell, from Charlotte, North Carolina, used designs for the shelters that celebrate the artists and flourishing creative environment in North Boulder.
North Boulder Art Program
Commissioned in 2019, the brightly colored artworks will announce entry into North Boulder and the NoBo Art District. Unfolding draws inspiration from native flora and fauna including abstracted butterfly wings and showy milkweed.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dowell’s colorful creations into North Boulder,” said Leah Brenner Clack, Executive Director of the NoBo Art District. “It is important to have public art here that reflects the same vibrancy of the creatives and community members who live, work and recreate in North Boulder.”
A dedication ceremony to welcome Unfolding by Sharon Dowell into the city’s public art collection was held in September at the bridge near the new North Boulder Public Library (4500 Broadway). The event offered the public a chance to meet the artist and ask questions about the work and learn more about the public art program. Funding for Unfolding comes from the city’s Percent for Art Policy, which allocates one percent of the construction budgets of new capital and capital enhancement projects to be allocated for commissioning artwork.