When archaeologists and scholars look back at past civilizations, it is not politics or policies that capture their interest; it is art.

Throughout history, people have been defining and refining their cultural identity through art — and the cities of the Treasure Valley are no different.

One tool that Boise, Meridian, Eagle and Nampa are using to create their own cultural identities is their local arts commissions.

Idaho has seen a growth in the arts statewide since 1999. Six cities, including Boise, have adopted "percent for arts" initiatives that ensure public art will be part of any public construction. And since 2002, three new arts commissions have been formed in the Treasure Valley.

FORMING A DISTINCT ARTS CULTURE

Eagle, Meridian and now Nampa all are seeking to develop their cultural identities - separate from Boise.

"People want an identity they can latch onto and call home," said Meg Glasgow, owner of Finer Frames in Meridian and chairwoman of the Meridian Arts Commission. "When you think of the great cities you travel to, they have great art that lets you know where you are."

Arts commissions are volunteer community organizations that advise city councils on arts issues, generate awareness for local programs, write grants to fund events and projects, and lobby for city funding.

There are now 37 of them across the state.

Creating a space for the arts in public life is a sign of growing civic maturity, said Karen Bubb, public art manager for Boise City Department of Art and History.

"A city has to have a distinct cultural presence. The arts have a strong role in attracting people to live there and in driving economy," Bubb said.

Bubb started as a staff member for the volunteer Boise City Arts Commission in 1996. She has seen Boise's arts scene grow to the point where the commission became part of the city's Department of Art and History in 2007.

Boise is the big potato in the Valley, and the surrounding towns have existed in the glow of its arts. Now, those burgs have grown to a point where it is important to have their own identity, said Linda Butler, who heads the Eagle Arts Commission.

"We have a lot of people who live here who value the arts," she said. "They want it to be here for and about them."

The goal for any city is to create a sense of place, identity and community through a distinct arts and cultural scene within the city limits. Whether that is through public art or events or both depends on what meets the needs and tastes of the people who live there.

Arts commissions add color to the fabric of a community, Meridian Mayor Tammy de Weerd said last week after the City Council approved the commission's first major public art project, a sculpture for the entry of the new City Hall.

"When you're looking at city planning, the cultural and social aspects an arts commission can add help focus and develop the quality of life," De Weerd said.

Amber Conger's "Origin" is a hanging metal sculpture that will encompass a sense of Meridian's history, its place in the development of Idaho and a feel for its future.

Conger drew on the fact that Meridian Road, which runs next to City Hall, is the prime meridian from which all of Idaho was mapped back in 1880s and '90s. It gave the city its name when it was founded in 1893.

The sculpture is an abstract take on antique survey equipment made of copper, brass, steel and other metals. A sunburst shape will fill the large glass atrium.

"The history piece was particularly important, and she captured that in a way that matched our vision," Glasgow said.

The commission chose this design over a sculpture that focused on the old dairy that sat on the land now occupied by City Hall.

Meridian's roots are deep in the dairy industry, but the dairies are long moved out of the city limits, Glasgow said.

The choice to reflect the city's role in the drawing of the state instead of its history of dairies will affect how future residents and visitors view Meridian. This is how public art helps define a place.

AN ARTS INSURGENCE

Beyond the city sculpture, Meridian also has opened the Initial Point gallery inside City Hall, begun a city visual arts collection and plans to start a performing arts series in a new outdoor amphitheater in the spring, Glasgow said.

In Eagle, the arts commission, founded in 2002, runs programs at the Saturday market, started a Last Thursday gallery stroll, offers grants for arts education and completed its largest public art project in 2007 - a dozen benches designed by area artists peppered throughout Eagle's business corridor.

The commission's most successful events happen in Heritage Park in downtown Eagle.

"People in Eagle love to go to events in that park," Butler said. "So we've been focusing on bringing things there."

In the spring, they will retool the gallery walk to a park-centered affair, bringing the artists to the people. "Eagle is just too spread out," Butler said.

The Nampa Arts Commission is still in its startup phase and is recruiting members. For years, the Nampa Civic Center has tried to fill the role of a commission, producing community performing arts events and visual art shows.

Much of the commission's successes have come from nurturing a village feel and attracting arts-based businesses such as the Art of Framing, owned by the newest arts commissioner, Melissa Brodt.

Farther out in Canyon County, Caldwell Fine Arts has functioned as a sometime ad hoc arts commission, working with developers to create public art and bring nationally known performing artists to The College of Idaho.

"I consider us an arts council, though we are an independent group," said Sylvia Hunt, who has led the CFA since the early 1980s. "We've done a lot over the years. We've helped with downtown development and creating some public art, but I have a feeling things should change and we should move toward having a commission.

"There is such a surge of arts activity in the Valley. Arts are an essential component for the quality of life that most people desire," Hunt said.

The most challenging thing for all of these groups in the future is the uncertain economy. Many cities are waiting to find out what money is coming from the state before finalizing budgets for the arts, which often fall toward the end of the list.

It is a concern, Glasgow admits, "but we're artists, most of us; we're used to working with little money, shrinking budgets and worse. I'm sure we'll survive somehow."

Dana Oland: 377-6442