The Sedona Parks and Recreation Department is trying something rarely seen in small towns, but it’s something that works with the city’s goal of being animated by the arts.

At the Tuesday, Sept. 25, Sedona City Council meeting, Parks and Recreation Manager Rachel Murdoch and Arts and Culture Coordinator Nancy Lattanzi gave a brief presentation on a proposed program called Sedona revolving art walls. This program, which is expected to begin in the spring, would allow artists to apply for and receive permission to paint on a designated wall on the backside of the tennis courts at Sunset Park.

While council did not take a vote, all were in favor of proceeding.

Murdoch said artists would have to provide a sketch of what they plan to paint. If approved, the artist is given a 12-by-8 foot space to paint. The 130-foot-long wall would be able to accommodate up to 10 artists at a time.

Artwork will remain for a specified amount of time — anticipated to be two weeks to one month — depending on application specifications and demand. Murdoch anticipates most of the painting will take place the first weekend of each month. Artwork will be photographed and displayed in a photo album on the city’s website.

“We don’t normally bring program concepts to City Council ahead of time, but we wanted to highlight how very unique this project is, how exciting it is and how fun of an opportunity it is to highlight within the community if you feel it is appropriate,” Murdoch said.

In her report, Murdoch said once this has become an established program, they can hold painting events at the location and build on the spot to become a unique gathering place for people to enjoy art. Live music, paint demonstrations and educational opportunities could also be incorporated.

“We are hopeful that the program will be successful, will be embraced by artists as an opportunity and by the community as a park feature to be proud of and enjoyed,” Murdoch wrote. “No new costs are anticipated at this time since existing supplies on hand would be used and labor would be either volunteers or during regularly scheduled hours of existing staff.”

Within the application, it will state that the city reserves the right to restrict or remove any artwork deemed inappropriate.

Artwork that contains the following content is not permitted:

• Hate speech.
• Extreme or gratuitous violence.
• Pornography.
• Illicit drug references.
• Gang references.
• Profanity.
• Commercial messages or corporate logos.

In terms of its location, Murdoch said it’s unique in that it’s easily accessible to patrons of the park, even more so after the area is cleared of brush and the path improved. And because of its location, those wishing not to see it won’t have to, since it’s not visible from the playground, water park or general-use area.

The artists shall retain all copyright, licensing and intellectual property rights in the art they create on the walls. Artists acknowledge and agree that any artwork displayed on the walls is temporary and may be removed by the city at any time without notice to the artists. They agree that any artwork, while it is on the walls, is considered to constitute a temporary license to the city for display of said artwork.

And, artists acknowledge and agree that city has no responsibility regarding the use of artwork displayed on the walls by parties other than the city.

“We are always looking at Parks and Rec to offer new programs throughout the year, and some of them work and some of them don’t,” Murdoch said. “And the ones that don’t work we learn from and move on. This program could be amazing or maybe it won’t work. Either way, this is a low-risk program.”