Garden City Placemaking Fund: Cultivating Creativity and Supporting the Arts in Boise and Beyond

The Garden City Placemaking Fund (GCPF) is a public arts initiative designed to empower local, emerging, and historically underrepresented artists—particularly BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)—through paid, public-facing art commissions. Formed as a collaborative effort between Surel’s Place, local arts advocates, business leaders, and community volunteers, the GCPF has become a leading force in preserving and promoting the creative spirit that defines Garden City’s Live-Work-Create District.

The Live-Work-Create District, formally designated by the city in 2007, is a unique zoning and community development initiative that encourages a blend of residential, commercial, and artistic uses. Centered along the 33rd Street corridor and stretching through pockets of former industrial spaces along the Greenbelt and riverfront, this district was designed to support artists and makers by allowing them to live, maintain studios, and operate businesses within the same property—often in converted warehouses, garages, or small-scale infill lots.

This hybrid approach to zoning was the first of its kind in Idaho and remains rare nationally. It has allowed Garden City to attract and retain a vibrant community of creatives, from sculptors and ceramicists to tattoo artists, musicians, and digital designers. The district is home to dozens of art studios, galleries, print shops, coffee roasters, glassblowers, and design-forward small businesses. Public events like First Fridays, Surel’s Place artist talks, and neighborhood studio tours have made the area a destination for collectors, tourists, and locals alike.

Importantly, the Live-Work-Create District reflects a conscious effort to preserve the gritty, experimental, and human-scale identity of a neighborhood that might otherwise have been erased by conventional redevelopment. The Garden City Placemaking Fund’s investment in public art here is not incidental—it’s essential. By commissioning murals, installations, and site-specific works that live within this flexible and community-centered zoning framework, GCPF helps reinforce the district’s founding mission: to make creativity a permanent, visible, and valued part of everyday life in Garden City.

Scenes from recent Garden City Placemaking Fund projects, captured by Visionkit Studio, featuring community mural painting days, artist-led workshops, and public unveilings that reflect the vibrant, collaborative spirit driving the GCPF initiative.

A Mission Rooted in Equity and Access

Since its inception, the Garden City Placemaking Fund (GCPF) has focused on ensuring that public art in Garden City reflects the diversity, talent, and lived experiences of its broader community. Central to this mission is a commitment to equity—specifically, elevating voices that have historically been excluded from the public arts sector. GCPF prioritizes opportunities for BIPOC artists, LGBTQIA+ creatives, and others whose work may not have traditionally received institutional support. In doing so, the fund works to correct imbalances in representation and visibility that have persisted across the arts landscape.

Professional opportunities supported by GCPF are not symbolic—they are career-building. Artists are paid competitive wages for their work, receive logistical and promotional support, and are often connected with mentorship and future commissions. This financial and infrastructural backing helps artists advance their practice while contributing to the cultural identity of the city. It also ensures that local youth, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, see themselves reflected in the public sphere—on walls, in parks, and along well-traveled corridors.

GCPF’s work is closely tied to Surel’s Place, the nonprofit artist-in-residence program housed in the former home of Garden City painter and advocate Surel Mitchell. Surel’s original vision was not only to support artists, but to embed them in the daily life of the community—to create a place where they could live, work, and engage the public in authentic, sustained ways. That vision now lives on through GCPF’s programs and partnerships.

Together, Surel’s Place and the GCPF are reshaping what public art means in the Treasure Valley—not as decoration, but as a tool for empowerment, dialogue, and neighborhood investment. Their projects activate neglected spaces, catalyze civic pride, and help define Garden City as a place where creative work is not just welcomed, but foundational to its identity.

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Recent Projects and Artist Impact

Through its ongoing support of murals and public installations, the Garden City Placemaking Fund (GCPF) has helped transform the city’s built environment into a dynamic canvas of cultural expression. These projects—now visible throughout Garden City’s industrial zones and creative corridors—highlight the fund’s mission to elevate local artists and infuse the community with meaningful, story-driven design.

A standout example is Miguel Almeida’s mural at Zion Art Glass. Painted in vibrant tones and infused with folkloric symbolism, the work draws from Almeida’s Mexican-American heritage and invites viewers to consider themes of identity, migration, and ancestry. The visibility and acclaim from this commission helped propel Almeida’s career to the national stage, including a high-profile mural project for Google’s Kirkland, Washington campus.

Benjamin Hunt’s mural, titled Pollen, introduces a compelling visual language of interconnection. The geometric patterns reference both cultural cross-pollination and the natural systems that sustain life—an intentional nod to Indigenous values and ecologies. Hunt, who was selected via GCPF’s open call, has since earned additional regional commissions and been invited to participate in gallery exhibitions, underscoring the long-term professional value of GCPF’s platform.

Another notable effort is the Visionkit Studio exterior transformation, where GCPF facilitated a collaborative redesign process between the studio and emerging illustrators. Rather than simply hiring a muralist, the project emphasized mentorship, shared authorship, and inclusive visual storytelling—furthering GCPF’s commitment to education, capacity building, and community engagement.

Each installation does more than add color to the landscape. These projects cultivate a visual archive of lived experience, heritage, and aspiration. They support artists as cultural contributors and civic leaders, while expanding Garden City’s reputation as a hub for innovative, equity-centered public art.

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A Growing Regional Influence

In 2024, the Garden City Placemaking Fund was recognized by the Idaho Commission on the Arts as a model for artist-centered community development. It has also drawn coverage from BoiseDev, Boise Weekly, and Idaho Press, where it has been praised for balancing economic revitalization with cultural preservation. The fund has helped position Garden City as one of the most dynamic creative enclaves in the Pacific Northwest—while remaining deeply committed to grassroots values and local impact.

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Looking Ahead

As population growth and rising development costs accelerate across the Treasure Valley, the role of the Garden City Placemaking Fund (GCPF) is more vital than ever. In a region where artists and culture-bearers are increasingly vulnerable to displacement, GCPF provides an essential counterweight—creating paid opportunities, securing public visibility, and affirming the value of creative labor within evolving urban landscapes.

Looking forward, GCPF is actively expanding its impact beyond Garden City. New partnerships are underway in Boise’s Bench District, where legacy neighborhoods are experiencing rapid transformation. Plans include site-specific murals and design interventions that reflect the diverse histories and cultures of the area, ensuring that community identity is not only preserved, but made visible. Similar initiatives are in early stages in Meridian and Nampa, marking GCPF’s shift toward a broader regional model of arts-led placemaking.

At its core, the fund is not simply commissioning murals—it is reshaping how communities understand and invest in creative infrastructure. As GCPF scales its efforts, it continues to center equity, accessibility, and long-term sustainability, reinforcing the idea that public art is not a luxury or afterthought—it’s foundational to civic health, shared memory, and inclusive growth.

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A Final Word

The Garden City Placemaking Fund (GCPF) is not just an initiative—it’s an ongoing commitment to cultural preservation, equity, and place-based storytelling. In a rapidly changing region, GCPF anchors the creative identity of Garden City and the greater Treasure Valley by funding work that is as socially relevant as it is visually compelling. Through strategic partnerships, inclusive artist support, and a deep respect for neighborhood context, the fund redefines what it means to build community through the arts.

From large-scale murals that celebrate cultural heritage to adaptive reuse projects that foreground local narratives, GCPF ensures that creative expression remains embedded in the public realm—not behind gallery walls. As it expands into new neighborhoods and cities, the fund continues to demonstrate that investing in artists is a powerful tool for civic engagement, economic development, and long-term resilience.

To learn more or support future commissions, visit www.surelsplace.org/placemaking.