phoenix.gov

Margaret T. Hance Park is now the home to public artworks by two staples in the Phoenix art community.

Jay Atherton is an artist and architect whose work -- including installations, exhibitions, public buildings, and private residences -- is all over the country. Atherton installed "Towards Time (130811 11:52)" on Monday at the southern entrance to the park at Moreland and Second streets.

See also:
- Tempe's University Drive to Get a Bike and Pedestrian Makeover in 2013
- View Renderings and Weigh in on Future Projects by Scottsdale Public Art

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7th Ave Streetscape Haiku by Aaron Johnson, art by Eve Vrla

The Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture's looking for local poets for its ninth annual 7th Avenue Streetscape exhibition.

Up to four poems that aim to "broaden public thinking about reuse, recycling and a greener environment" will be selected for be selected for a yearlong public art display on the art panels at Glenrosa Street and Seventh Avenue.

See also:
- View Renderings and Weigh in on Future Projects by Scottsdale Public Art
- Tempe's University Drive to Get a Bike and Pedestrian Makeover in 2013
- Valerie Vadala Homer to Retire from Post as Director of Scottsdale Public Art

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http://speakupscottsdale.com/projects/northsight-extension-public-art

If you missed one of Scottsdale's public meetings last week that gave community members an opportunity to weigh in on future public art projects, you now have until November 9 to toss in your five cents.

Two main projects in the works by Scottsdale Public Art are the Scottsdale Road Historical Happenstance Artworks and the Northsight Boulevard Extension Public Art -- and project coordinators are asking residents to help decide which concept is developed.

See also:
- Valerie Vadala Homer to Retire from Post as Director of Scottsdale Public Art
- Tempe's University Drive to Get a Bike and Pedestrian Makeover in 2013
- Call for Artists: IN FLUX 3 to Launch Temporary Activation Projects in Scottsdale, Tempe, Phoenix, Glendale, Goodyear, and Mesa

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Scottsdale Public Art

See also: Margaret Bruning Steps Down as Associate Director of Scottsdale Public Art
See also: Scottsdale Public Art Presents Master Plan, Discusses Separation from the Scottsdale Cultural Council
See also: SMoCA Introduces New Associate Curator Emily Stamey

After 25 years with the Scottsdale Cultural Council -- the last 10 as Director of Scottsdale Public Art -- local art champion Valerie Vadala Homer announced she'll be leaving her post at the end of September.

"After almost a quarter of a century with the Scottsdale Cultural Council developing, nurturing and growing Scottsdale Public Art's exemplary program, I have decided to retire in order to spend more time with my family and to explore creative pursuits," wrote Vadala Homer in a release sent out by the Cultural Council this morning.

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Grandavephoenix.com

If you're a local artist and the idea of living in a cushy creative commune over-looking downtown Phoenix, celebrating the upcoming holidays with your artwork or making trash and recyclables into something dope sounds exciting, our new seven calls to artists may get your brush wet.

7. Applications for Creative Commune:
One of the more interesting happenings locally for artists isn't so much an upcoming event as it is a complete lifestyle overhaul.

Ben Bethel, owner of central Phoenix's adored Clarendon Hotel, issued in a Facebook post his plans to open a "creative commune." The commune would exist among his three combined Downtown Phoenix high-rise penthouses.

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Annie Nancy Jones Francis via Flickr

New medians and protected bike lanes are scheduled to be built into this section of University Drive at Beck Avenue in Tempe.

More than a decade in the making, a stretch of University Drive in Tempe is finally set to get a makeover that will bring improved bike lanes, sidewalks, public art and landscaping to this roadway that is the western gateway into ASU's Tempe campus.

The City of Tempe's Streets Department released initial plans and calls for public meetings to discuss and outline the renovations that will run between Ash Avenue and Priest Drive. The improvements are funded with $1.1 million in federal grants that the city has secured.

Planners anticipate construction kicking off in the summer of 2013 after additional rounds of public meetings this fall and final city council signoff. The University Drive project is one of four street enhancement projects currently in planning in Tempe.

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http://www.1001journals.com/group/scottsdale-public-art

Brian Singer's 1000 Journals project aims to create a collaborative community piece in which people contribute to sketchbooks and pass them on to someone new while sharing their thoughts and possibly inspiring other people to create more art.

Scottsdale's 100+ Journals is a part of the 1000+ Journals Project. And this is your last chance to view the work and participate by adding a bit of your creative soul to the many journals on display.

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http://lizardacres.com

Mary Lucking's "Curiouser and curiouser!", a public art installation at the Arizona Science Center

The world of public art hangs on a fascinating balance between reflecting the artist's intention, drawing the viewer's attention, and complementing its surroundings - all while drawing the expected "is that art?" response from community members and visitors alike.

Tonight, local artists Mary Lucking, Bob Adams, and Laurie Lundquist, as well as Los Angeles-based team MERGE Conceptual Design will meet at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art to discuss the triumphs and challenges of creating public artwork.

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Artwork in the Phoenix Municipal Art Collection

The City of Phoenix is bringing in a star-studded cast of local artists and art experts to Burton Barr this summer to discuss their work and the city's public art collection of more than 1,000 artworks.

The series of five presentations includes talks from photographer Mark Klett, poet Alberto Rios, painter Anne Coe, printmakers Joe Segura and Brent Bond, and art historian Betsy Fahlman on the public work now on view at the The Gallery @ City Hall and throughout Phoenix.

Here's a rundown on what should be on your calendar for May and June ...

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Tye Rabens

More than 80 artists and community members gathered at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts last week for a town hall meeting to discuss how public arts are managed in the city.

The stakes were high at the get-together, which was hosted by Scottsdale Public Art and a task force established in fall 2011 to solidify a "master plan" for the program's future.

Public art consultant Jerry Allen, who has been gathering data, researching, and analyzing Scottsdale's public art program since 2010, presented his 36 recommendations from the 60-plus-page master plan. In his presentation, Allen said that the master plan recommends the public art program should host an annual participatory public art festival in Scottsdale, and that it "should explore . . . incorporation as a separate nonprofit independent of the Cultural Council."

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