As an artist, Pat Milbery is best known for his large-scale murals, recognizable for their bold geometric designs, vivid color palettes and the radiant heart motif that his work often contains.

While these works establish a clear visual dialogue between artist and observer, in recent years Milbery has worked to dissolve that boundary, shifting toward a more participatory approach that invites viewers to engage directly with the piece rather than simply observe it.

A project approved Monday by Vail Art in Public Places aims to be among Milbery’s most interactive works yet — a 4-foot-tall, transparent, heart-shaped steel and tempered glass structure that will be filled with wooden tokens designed by members of the public.

The piece, titled “Heart of the Games,” will start as an empty, heart-shaped structure on display at the GoPro Mountain Games CoLab stage. It will then be filled with the wooden tokens throughout the event, where attendees will see it being filled in real time.

Pro snowboarder and muralist Pat Milbery in the middle of his project at the Avon Recreation Center on June 29, 2021, in Avon.Hugh Carey/The Colorado Sun

Athletes will receive 6-inch, three-dimensional wooden tokens, while visitors to the CoLab Stage will be given smaller, 3-inch versions to customize. Paint pens will be available for those who want to add color, while others can leave messages in ink on the natural wood surface.


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“We thought it’d be nice to have a combination of the natural with the color-centric,” Milbery said.

Much of Milbery’s participatory vision has taken shape through his work at the GoPro Mountain Games, where the public has been able to create art with him in the moment. Event Director Dave Dressman said Milbery has brought a new level of art interactivity to the games through his work on the event’s CoLab creator stage.

“The CoLab is where we do talks and have musicians, artists, digital creators and all sorts of radical human beings coming together to do cool stuff on this stage throughout the Mountain Games,” Dressman said. “Pat has been a part of the artistic side of that stage for the last three years.”

Pat Milbery’s work on display at Golden Peak in Vail. Courtesy image

In the past, that has happened through projects like his kids’ art activation table, where he guided children in customizing blank trucker hats — turning them into personal pieces of wearable art.

But this year, Milbery, through his creative agency Heart Space Studios, was hoping to create something more permanent, which is how the idea for “Heart of the Games” came together. Dressman said it will be a perfect fit for the CoLab stage, as the realization of the idea required collaboration between Milbery and his team, the Vail Valley Foundation, Discover Vail and Vail’s Art in Public Places board.

“Without the collaboration with Art in Public Places, the piece probably would have went into the Vail Valley Foundation storage unit in Gypsum, and it would sit there and collect dust until we brought it back out next Mountain Games,” Dressman said. “Having Art in Public Places involved will give it a permanent home in Vail.”

Artist Pat Milbery applies upcycled aluminum cups as clouds to a custom mural created for the 2022 Climb It for Climate event in Avon.Dominique Taylor/Courtesy photo

At the conclusion of the Mountain Games, the piece will be sealed and presented as a 60th birthday present from Heart Space Studios to the town of Vail, where it will be permanently installed as a work of public art. The town was incorporated in August of 1966.

“As a 60th birthday gift to Vail, and with the connection that people have, they can really take a moment and personalize it,” Milbery said. “They can express why they love Vail through what they leave on their tokens.”