Denver’s 1% for Public Art Program: how construction money turns into city icons
If you have ever walked past the Colorado Convention Center and caught a giant blue bear mid-peek, you have already met Denver’s 1% for Public Art program in the wild. The short version: when Denver builds big public stuff, it also budgets for big public art.
The longer (and more interesting) version is that Denver’s “1%” program is not a vibe or a slogan. It is a formal policy that sets aside art funding inside major city capital projects, so public art is not treated like a decorative afterthought or a last-minute fundraiser. It is planned, commissioned, fabricated, installed, and maintained with the same seriousness as the project that triggered it.
Below is the history, how it works day-to-day, and some of the biggest and most recognizable works it has produced.
What “1% for Public Art” actually means
Denver’s program sets aside 1% of eligible municipal capital improvement projects (when the project budget meets the threshold) for public art. In plain English: if the City is spending real money to build or significantly improve public infrastructure, a small slice of that project’s construction budget is dedicated to commissioning art for public places.
This is part of a broader “percent-for-art” approach used across the U.S. (Philadelphia is widely cited as the first American city to adopt a percent-for-art model in 1959), but Denver’s version has its own rules, review layers, and “Denver-ness.”
A quick history of Denver’s program
Denver’s Public Art Program began in 1988, created by an executive order under Mayor Federico Peña. In 1991, City Council enacted it into ordinance, formalizing the 1% set-aside in city law and policy.
From there, Denver’s public art collection scaled up fast, especially as major civic projects came online. The program has now supported the commissioning and installation of hundreds of works, alongside historic and donated pieces that also live in the city’s broader public art collection.
By the numbers, Denver Public Art reports 400+ artworks in the collection, about $40 million invested in public art since 1988, and 50+ public art projects in progress at a given time (numbers fluctuate with construction cycles).
Which projects trigger the 1% set-aside?
The ordinance is tied to capital improvement projects (CIPs) that cross the program threshold. Denver’s Public Art materials describe qualifying projects as CIPs with construction (and typically design) budgets over $1 million, involving things like buildings/structures, roads, streetscapes, pedestrian malls or plazas, parks, or other projects with finished space for human occupancy and public visibility.
The program also lists notable exclusions, which generally include:
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temporary improvements
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ordinary repair and maintenance
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certain mechanical/electrical projects
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projects not available for public view or human occupancy
So if the City is resurfacing something minor or swapping mechanical systems behind the scenes, that is not typically a public-art-triggering moment. But if the City is building a new library, rec center, civic building, park development, major bridge or streetscape upgrade, that is exactly the kind of project that tends to qualify.
How the money is calculated (and why that matters)
This is the part people argue about at dinner: “Is it 1% of the whole project?” In Denver’s program guidance, the set-aside is described as 1% of total budgeted construction costs for eligible capital improvement projects. The materials also note that the set-aside cannot be waived if the project meets the criteria.
Other program details that matter in real life:
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Phased projects: if a project is split into phases, the guidance treats the budget collectively (so projects cannot “phase their way out” of the requirement.
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Time: the art budget is tied to the project lifecycle, but public art planning often begins early because integrating art into architecture, landscapes, or infrastructure is much easier when it is not bolted on at the end.
What the set-aside can pay for is broader than “buying a sculpture.” Denver’s guidance and program documents include costs like design, fabrication, installation, and even repair of public art.
Who runs the program?
Denver Public Art is operated by Denver Arts & Venues (DAV), the city agency behind major cultural venues (Red Rocks, Denver Performing Arts Complex, Colorado Convention Center, etc.). Program materials describe DAV as the implementing agency, working with other city departments that manage the capital projects that trigger the 1% requirement.
Oversight includes the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs (DCCA) (a mayor-appointed body), and a formal approval chain for commissions.
How an artwork gets chosen
Denver’s program emphasizes that public art is selected through a public, panel-based process. Here is the typical flow, stitched together from Denver’s own “Public Art 101” materials and program overview documents:
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A project selection panel is formed
Panels include a mix of community members connected to the area, arts professionals, artists, civic leaders, and site experts. Denver explicitly frames equity, diversity, and inclusion as important in panel participation. -
The panel defines goals and writes the call
They review the site, establish criteria, and release an RFQ/RFP-style call for artists. -
Artists apply, and finalists are selected
The process typically moves from a broad pool to semi-finalists/finalists, often with presentations or concept proposals. -
Approvals happen in layers
Once a panel recommends an artist/team, the selection is presented to the Public Art Committee, then the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs, and ultimately requires Mayoral approval. For commissions $500,000 or more, the contract also goes to City Council.
This layered structure is why Denver can commission everything from smaller neighborhood pieces to seven-figure, infrastructure-integrated projects while still maintaining a consistent process.
Notable and “largest” works: the Denver icons (and the sneaky giants)
Denver’s collection is huge and varied (sculpture, murals, light, sound, integrated architectural works). But if you want the headline-grabbers—the ones that feel physically massive or culturally unavoidable—these are a few greatest hits.
“Dancers” (Denver Performing Arts Complex Sculpture Park)
If we are talking sheer height, “Dancers” is a monster: Denver Public Art describes it as a 60-foot-tall sculpture and the first installation in the Performing Arts Sculpture Park.It is one of those works you can spot from a moving car, which is a very real category of public art: “commuter-visible scale.”
“I See What You Mean” (Big Blue Bear), Colorado Convention Center
Probably Denver’s most photographed piece of public art. The work is widely described as 40 feet high, created by Lawrence Argent, and installed at the Colorado Convention Center.
It is also a perfect example of what the 1% program enables: a playful, site-specific landmark that becomes part of the city’s identity, not just a decoration near a building.
“Mustang” (aka “Blucifer”), Denver International Airport
Love it, fear it, take selfies with it anyway: the airport’s blue horse is described by Denver International Airport’s own materials as 32 feet tall, with glowing red eyes.
The airport is also a useful case study in how big construction budgets can generate big art budgets, because major airport projects (and expansions) can trigger substantial “one percent” funding over time.
“Kinetic Air Light Curtain,” Denver International Airport train tunnel
This one wins the “largest-but-not-a-single-object” category. Denver Public Art describes “Kinetic Air Light Curtain” as 5,280 reflective propellers arranged in a grid that changes as trains pass—an artwork that spans the entire mile of the train tunnel journey.
It is public art as infrastructure experience design: you do not just see it, you pass through it.
“Untitled (Interior Garden),” Denver International Airport (Concourse C)
Another quiet giant. Denver Public Art describes this as reimagining the Concourse C train area as a “garden oasis,” including a 7,000-square-foot plaza of patterned inlaid materials.
This is the program’s “integrated” side: art that is literally embedded into the space, not placed on top of it.
Big-budget, infrastructure-scale commissions
Denver’s program can also operate at very high commission levels depending on the project. For example, Denver Public Art has issued calls in the $1.5 million range for major public infrastructure elements (like bridges connecting neighborhoods).
That is not an everyday project, but it shows how 1% can scale when the underlying capital project is enormous.
What the program is trying to accomplish (beyond “pretty things”)
Denver’s own program language emphasizes goals like:
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artistic excellence
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enhancing civic identity and pride
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activating public places residents and visitors use
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representing a broad range of artists and media
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reflecting history and cultural diversity
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doing all of the above through a fair, transparent public process
One particularly interesting detail from Denver Public Art: it has reported that approximately 55% of the collection is created by local Colorado artists which matters if you care about whether the money circulates back into the region’s creative economy.
The unglamorous (but essential) part: maintenance and stewardship
Public art is not “install and forget.” Outdoor pieces get weathered, tagged, dented, and occasionally crashed into (cars: undefeated enemy of the arts). Denver’s program documentation explicitly includes maintenance/repair responsibilities as part of the program’s scope.
This is one of the underrated reasons the 1% structure exists: it creates a predictable mechanism for commissioning and caring for artworks as civic assets over decades, instead of relying on one-time donations and good vibes.
Why Denver’s 1% program keeps showing up in conversations about growth
Denverite once summarized the dynamic bluntly: more construction tends to mean more public art, because big capital projects trigger the set-aside.
You can see the same effect at Denver International Airport: major, multi-billion-dollar improvements can translate into significant art funding under the “one percent” rule, and the airport’s collection has become part of its national reputation (and conspiracy lore).
That is the program’s core trade: when a city grows and builds, it can choose to grow only in concrete and steel, or it can also invest in shared cultural landmarks that make the built environment feel like it belongs to people.
How to engage with the program (even if you are not an artist)
Denver’s program is designed to be “public” in more than name. The city’s own materials describe selection panels that include community representatives connected to the project area, and Denver Public Art actively recruits jurors for selection processes.
If you are the type of person who has Opinions about what goes in your neighborhood (most of us), this is one of the more direct ways to turn that energy into something constructive.
The takeaway
Denver’s 1% for Public Art program is basically a civic hack: it bakes cultural investment into capital construction so that public spaces do not end up as “efficient, functional, and completely soulless.”
It is also why Denver has an unusually deep bench of memorable public artworks—from towering figurative sculptures downtown, to airport pieces that are literally a mile long. The program has been running since 1988, formalized in 1991, and continues to expand alongside the city’s ongoing build-out.