Durango-La Plata County Airport launched its first formal artistic venture on Friday with a call to artists across the Four Corners.
DRO is seeking proposals for cultural murals and installations to be displayed in three spaces within the airport’s new baggage claim area during the first phase of its terminal expansion project. The baggage claim area is projected to open to the public in late spring or early summer of 2025.
The call to artists is an expansive invitation to artists of the Four Corners, including Southwest Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, although only three individuals or creative groups will ultimately be selected.
DRO Aviation Director Tony Vicari said the airport is working with the Durango Creative District to create a selection committee to choose the art pieces to be displayed. The committee will likely include a representative from DRO, the creative district, the city of Durango, La Plata County and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.
“I don't think it'll be a very easy job for a selection committee just because I'm hoping we get a lot of really interesting and cool proposals through the process,” he said. “It'll be a tough selection to narrow it down to just three.”
The aim is to find art pieces that best represent and resonate with the “overall cultural vibrancy” of Southwest Colorado and the Four Corners, including neighboring states served by DRO, he said.
“We're trying to reflect the service area of the airport, and that's definitely Southwest Colorado, but also the wider Four Corners,” he said.
DRO is requesting proposals for murals, paintings, wall-mounted installations and one sculpture or 3D installation suspended from the ceiling that represent “unique geographic, environmental, or cultural aspects of the region,” according to the call to artists.
He said while Indigenous themes are not explicitly included in this call to artists, by nature of the criteria and the history of the Four Corners, he expects any proposals featuring Indigenous art or themes would be competitive.
Relevance to regional history, the potential for community engagement, inclusivity and overall impact on the airport experience for users are all things that will be considered, he said.
“Local artists and anyone who’s able to depict some of the true culture and environment of our area is probably going to be very competitive in this process,” he said.
Vicari has spoken before about featuring Southern Ute art at the airport. At a joint meeting between the city and SUIT in November 2023, he said city and SUIT staff were collaborating to host art depicting Southern Ute culture and history in high visibility areas of the airport, where 500,000 travelers pass through annually.
That project is still included in DRO’s construction plans and moving forward, but it’s separate from the call to artists in question, he said. The airport designated two locations, one in baggage claim and another post-TSA screening, where Southern Ute art will be displayed.
“We are working with the Southern Ute tribe to allow them to effectively curate them in a manner that they would deem appropriate,” he said.
The Southern Ute displays could include a mix of art, artifacts, cultural displays, history or other things, he said.
Three locations within DRO’s new baggage claim area where art is to be installed – named 4A, 4B and 5 – vary in size, scope and budget. Vicari said additional locations throughout the airport will be put to bid in a separate call to artists that will follow later in the first phase of the terminal expansion project.
Budgets for locations 4A, 4B and 5 are $5,500, $25,000 and $32,000, respectively. The budgets include artist fees, material costs, installation costs and transportation costs.
The call to artists was released Friday. It said artists have until 3 p.m. Nov. 6 to submit questions about the project’s nature and scope. Artists then have until 3 p.m. Dec. 17 to submit their proposals.
The airport will conduct interviews with artists if necessary the week of Jan. 6 or Jan. 13, approximately. Notices of award will be issued, again approximately, the week of Jan. 13 or Jan. 20, the call to artists said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
