The Carlsbad Arts Commission voted unanimously Oct. 2 to ask staff to request a formal written proposal from Dowdle Studios for a community public-art project intended to coincide with the city’s 2027 anniversary celebrations. Commissioner Geeta Carrillo made the motion and Commissioner Gidon Nasiri seconded it; the motion carried unanimously.

The request follows a 40‑minute presentation by folk artist Eric Dowdle and a studio representative, Josephine Thorne, who described a collaborative process of research, community interviews, an original hand‑painted work that can be reproduced as puzzles, prints or a mural, and a public unveiling. “Everybody matters,” Dowdle said, explaining the studio’s approach of embedding many local stories and vignettes into a single painting that becomes community merchandise and programming.

Commissioners asked about display locations, mural versus print options, merchandise licensing, procurement, and timing. Cultural Arts Manager Craddock Strokes told the commission the project would fall under the city’s Art in Public Places program as a “community arts” project, not a capital improvement project, and therefore would require a special appropriation from the City Council and council approval of any contract. Strokes also described several procedural paths the commission could direct staff to take, including asking Dowdle Studios for a formal proposal, conducting community outreach, or pursuing partnerships with groups such as the Carlsbad Library and Arts Foundation or the Chamber of Commerce to underwrite some costs.

Dowdle said the original painting typically ranges from roughly 24 by 30 inches and takes about one to three months to paint; the studio then creates puzzles, prints and other merchandise from the finished artwork. He described earlier municipal partnerships in which cities purchased a large number of puzzles and used them for fundraising and tourist promotion. On timing, staff and the artist said a minimum of about nine months from green light is typical to complete community engagement, artwork production and manufacturing of puzzles and prints; staff said they have completed similar projects in five months but that nine months is preferred.

Next steps: the commission asked staff to request a written proposal from Dowdle Studios for evaluation by the Cultural Arts Office. Staff said the proposal would be agendized for a future commission meeting and, if recommended, would be forwarded to City Council as a budget appropriation and contract approval request.

This report does not characterize the proposal’s cost or funding source beyond staff’s description that the item would require a council appropriation or external underwriting; specific dollar amounts were not provided at the meeting.