Debby Coles-Dobay Bio
Debby Coles-Dobay, Public Art administrator, manages the City of Boynton Beach Art in Public Places Program. In this position she serves as liaison to the Arts Commission, City and Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) staff, developers, planners architects, artists, design professionals and the general public. Since August 2007, Debby has facilitated nine development and eleven City/CRA projects, the annual Avenue of the Arts program which features art works that are on loan to the many of which are purchased for permanent placement in the City. She also coordinates a series of rotating exhibits in City facilities and developed the Swing Space program which places artwork on exhibit in vacant store fronts of shopping plazas. She took a leadership role in the Arts Commission’s visioning plan that includes the 2013 International Kinetic Art Exhibit and Symposium. She is currently assisting artists in developing an industrial area Arts District the first of its kind in Palm Beach County and the commissioning of public art to attract visitors and businesses to the Civic/Cultural area of Boynton Beach. Debby is actively involved in the City’s rebranding initiative and the nation’s first of two City Green Building Programs.
Debby serves as the treasurer of Florida Association of Public Art Professionals and has sat on Eco Art of South Florida’s Advisory Board Committee for the past three years. She is also contributing her services to the Palm Beach County Cultural Council’s initiative for “Artists Conversations.”
Art has been a constant throughout Debby’s life. Being raised in the New York metropolitan area afforded her many cultural opportunities. She studied dance, painting and drawing at an early age. Throughout her studies, Debby received many art awards and publicity for her artistic achievements.
After relocating to South Florida in the late seventies, and transferring from City University of New York to Florida Atlantic University, Debby graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Debby’s career spanned from graphic arts and advertising management to marketing consumer products to the mass market industry. Her creative marketing skills contributed to the success of many regional, national and international brands. While managing her business, Creative Marketing Impact, Inc., Debby began to focus her marketing expertise to promote artists and public art.
When the opportunity presented itself to establish an Arts Commission for the City of Boynton Beach, Debby devoted two years of volunteer time to spearhead the implementation of an Art in Public Places Program. The program was accepted and its funding mechanism, a public art ordinance, was adopted by the City Commission in October 2005. With support and encouragement of her associates, Debby became the first Public Art Administrator for the City of Boynton Beach. Her goal is to provide program leadership designed to enrich the community and stimulate economic growth.