Bernalillo County to select art for downtown headquarters

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Bernalillo County will soon select plans to decorate a prominent part of its headquarters and add a little color to downtown Albuquerque.

Renderings show one of the proposals with a mural on the side of the building with color-changing LED lights that illuminate at night.

Another proposal – inspired by wind, geology, and the sun – shows a modern 3D element cascading down the building.

A third proposal shows a design inspired by Native American petroglyph carvings.

“This will be one of the largest scale projects that Bernalillo County has done in terms of public art,” said Kent Swanson, who is in charge of overseeing nearly 600 pieces of artwork on public display in the county.

With a blank canvas stretching eight stories tall, people will be able to see the work of art for miles.

“This building has a really unique architecture. There are some really interesting facades that will serve as like a canvas for this public art project,” Swanson said.

It’s a project they say will add character to the community and stimulate the economy.

“We have such a strong artist community here, between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, Taos. This whole region is a huge creative economy, especially in the visual arts,” Swanson said.