A variety of public art installations may soon be unveiled throughout Buckeye, following a decision by members of the city’s Arts and Culture Subcommittee.
The largest installations are coming from Tucson artists George Peters and Melanie Walker, who are well known for their kinetic sculptures in the Phoenix area and other urban centers, as well as their summer home in Boulder, Colorado.
“The Totem Cactus sculptures at the entry to Sundance Park are intended as a welcoming threshold – an emblem of emergence, resilience and growth rooted in the Sonoran Desert,” states the description by the artists. “Rising from the ground like young saguaros, the forms reference the earliest stages of plant life, when growth is most vulnerable yet most determined. In a desert environment where survival depends on patience and adaptation, the sprout becomes a quiet symbol of possibility.”
Committee members said they hope to pair the “Totem Cactus” with another sculpture, “If Wishes Were Fishes,” a series of spinning fish perched atop curved poles in the park, which features a fishing pond and splash pad water feature.
The budget for the Sundance Park sculpture is $52,000. Once approved by the Arts and Culture Subcommittee – which will likely happen at the group’s March meeting – the project would go before the Community Services Advisory Board and then the Buckeye City Manager’s office.
Beyond the kinetic sculpture at Sundance park, the committee approved several designs to decorate seven traffic boxes throughout Buckeye.
Traffic boxes are the wardrobe-sized silver boxes, usually found near traffic light-controlled intersections. Several artists submitted proposed artwork to decorate individual boxes.
The budget for each piece is $1,200, with the first series of art appearing in April and May. A second series of artwork will follow in July and August.
