The purpose of the Public Art Commission is

• to provide the process to acquire works of art by the City, which shall become the City's collection,
• to provide a means to select works of art for the collection,
• to provide for the location and display of the collection, and
• to provide for the maintenance, repair, and promotion of the works of art in the collection.

The Public Art Commission was established on June 15, 2004 by a vote of the Durango City Council through enabling Resolution number 2004-32.  The Commission is,  “…vested with the responsibility of advising the City Council with respect to all aspects of planning, programming, procurement, installation, operations, and maintenance of public art projects and artworks.”

One of the main duties and responsibilities of the Public Art Commission is to adopt criteria for review of artwork proposals and site selection for the city's public art program that are in addition to and consistent with the criteria set forth in its enabling resolution.