Jackson Hole Public Art

Through August 19-21, 2015 the community of Jackson Hole, Wyoming is welcome to participate in an event along North Cache Street, a major roadway connecting downtown Jackson Hole to the country’s National Parks. The event - which will feature interactive art installations, performances and food vendors- will allow members of the community to interact, test, and provide input on public art prototypes proposed for the roadway. They can submit feedback by way of a Mobile Design Studio, a trailer stationed at the location and retrofitted with iPads, laptops, and design boards to enable community engagement.

The North Cache Place of Possibility event (North Cache POP) will be the second creative placemaking event hosted by Jackson Hole Public Art, the community’s public art program. Additonally, several future creative placemaking exercises are scheduled to occur across the community where capital improvement projects are planned. POP events are designed to transform every day locations, to get members of the community to think about how they interact in and use space, and are designed to encourage the community to reimagine these locations for what they can be as places of infinite and unrealized possibility.

These events are one of the many ways Jackson Hole Public Art keeps its residents at the center of its public art and creative placemaking efforts. As an organization that’s committed to enhancing public space by integrating art that celebrates the community’s unique environmental and cultural heritage, it understands that the culture of the community is inextricably tied to the people who live there and it relies on its interactions with the public to make sure those values, stories, and cultural traditions are captured or represented in the artwork it commissions. To help facilitate conversations around community planning and development Jackson Hole Public Art focuses on design as seen with the creation of POP events and the Mobile Design Studio.

This focus on design allows for more authentic interactions with the community and can also be seen in the organization’s work with youth especially in the launch of its Building STEAM program. The Building STEAM program uses public art design to engage youth as they learn key concepts associated with S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). The incorporation of design adds an artistic component or the "A," creating S.T.E.A.M.

Building STEAM was developed after Bland Hoke, the current public artist on staff, identified an opportunity to work with high school students participating in fabrication labs at Jackson Hole High School. During weekly interventions in the labs, Hoke assisted with teaching the students 21st Century skills (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity) and empowered the students to think about creative solutions to the design and construction of public art projects. They focused on the teen wing of the town’s local library and public seating for a vertical greenhouse in the community. This work not only allowed the students to apply what they learned to the real world, but also they were able to play a role in improving their community - making it more vibrant and appealing to fellow community members who would use these spaces.  

Another way Jackson Hole Public Art keeps the community and the artists at the center of its creative placemaking efforts is through its new public artist on staff program. The public artist on staff assists in orienting artists from outside the community into the local culture to nurture their understanding of the town by introducing them to the cultural traditions, stories, and values of the community. This program, in turn, helps the artist create authentic works that are representative of the community’s identity and unique cultural heritage.   

By providing opportunities for youth and residents to get involved with community planning, Jackson Hole Public Art is not only creating and commissioning public art for the people for their community, but also is increasing the public’s access, understanding, and investment in public art in their town. With more than a dozen unique prominent public art installations, Jackson Hole Public Art has also positioned the community’s public art collection as an economic driver in terms of cultural tourism. It provides visitors visual clues to the community’s cultural identity with an authentic experience unique to the town.

Photo Caption: Digital rendering of the mobile design studio.