Los Alamos Seeks Applicants for Art in Public Places Board

Los Alamos County invited residents on January 2, 2026, to apply to fill three vacancies on the Art in Public Places (APP) Board. Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 30, 2026. Interviews are planned for February, and new terms will begin March 25, 2026.

Eligibility for appointment is limited to county residents who are not county employees and do not hold public office. The board’s responsibilities include organizing calls for art and artists, gathering community input on public art projects, managing and preserving the county-owned public art collection, and proposing creative ideas for future installations. These duties place board members at the center of decisions that affect public spaces across the county.

The APP fund is supported by a policy that dedicates 1% of capital improvement and road project budgets to public art. That funding mechanism links aesthetic and cultural investments directly to public infrastructure spending, meaning choices made by the APP Board will influence how taxpayer-funded projects incorporate artwork and interpret local identity. For residents, this can translate into new installations in parks, civic buildings, and along transportation corridors, and into the long-term care of existing works held by the county.

Board service offers both practical stewardship and a platform for representing community priorities. Members will solicit and weigh input from diverse constituencies, help shape calls to artists that reflect local values, and oversee conservation of artworks that form part of Los Alamos County’s public portfolio. In a region with layered cultural and scientific histories, the APP Board’s selections and processes will affect how public spaces reflect that complexity to residents and visitors alike.

Interested residents should submit applications by the January 30 deadline and prepare for interviews in February if selected. For questions and application instructions, contact staff liaison Chelsea Ashcraft. Appointments made this spring will begin the work of guiding public art choices and preserving the county’s collection for future generations.