Debby Coles-Dobay

Public Art and Marketing Professional/Cultural Specialist

Public Art professional, Debby Coles-Dobay, served the Boynton Beach Art in Public Places program for 13 years. Following a three-year volunteer effort in which she successfully spearheaded the adoption of the 1% public art ordinance and public art master plan, the City of Boynton Beach hired her full time.

Under Debby's leadership more than 80 public artworks were realized that featured a diversity of artists and art forms. Major artworks by international artists now enrich the City of Boynton Beach, including Ralfonso’s kinetic gateway “Reflections”; Albert Palely’s iconic “Cavalcade”; Frank Varga’s welcoming sculpture “The Gulfstream”; Dahlquist and Niebuhr’s educational water plant sculpture “Water, You and I”; Mark Fuller’s community preservation sculpture “Last Pasture and Waterhole”; and Don Gialanella’s interactive columns “Synesthesia.” Through the Art in Public Places program, Debby also supported regional and Florida artists and fostered their growth in public art projects, including Lucy Keshavarz and her Eco art project, “Old Dixie Eco Walk”; Peter Agardy, Doug Hoekzema, John Griffin and Jermaine Johnson and their community graffiti mural, “Neighborhood Vibes"; Stacey Mandell’s wall sculpture, "Creative Community"; and William Combes, “Ocean to Everglades” photo mural. To learn about all of the artworks and artists Debby managed from 2013-2020, please visit BoyntonBeachArts.org.

Debby's public art and business acumen also resulted in her co-creating, managing, and implementing the biennial International Kinetic Art Exhibit and Symposium from 2013-2019. She collaborated with Ralfonso, international kinetic artist and President of the Kinetic Art Organization, to bring artists, art patrons, and dignitaries to participate in the event. The City benefited from an elevated cultural status, experienced thousands of new visitors from as far as China, The Netherlands, and Romania, and a new appreciation of having artists invested in place making through kinetic art. Due to their curation of versatile artists and distinctive kinetic art forms they delivered world-wide notoriety to the City and the event.

Prior to public art, Debby’s career included in-house marketing and advertising for International corporations, as well as running her own company, Creative Marketing Impact. She graduated with an Associates from CUNY at Queens College, New York, and a BFA from Florida Atlantic University.

Presently, as a consultant in her business Art Moves You, Debby Coles-Dobay applies her professional skills to create and cultivate public art projects, exhibits, and programs in the Arts & Culture sector.