{"id":817479,"date":"2026-05-23T19:54:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T19:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/817479\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T19:54:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T19:54:34","slug":"public-art-projects-appear-across-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/817479\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Art Projects Appear Across Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>New public art projects are popping up in locations around Texas, including the atrium of the Abilene Heritage Square Library, Santa Fe Park in San Angelo, Sycamore Park in Fort Worth, and the San Pedro Creek in downtown San Antonio.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/glasstire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Blessing-Hancock-Energetic_7.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"343\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Blessing-Hancock-Energetic_7-600x343.jpg\" alt=\"A large blue, yellow and white-painted metal public sculpture, in a m\u00f6bius strip shape, in a park setting.\" class=\"wp-image-361512\"  \/><\/a>Blessing Hancock, \u201cEnergetic,\u201d 2025, installed in Sycamore Park in Fort Worth. Photo: Ralph Lauer<\/p>\n<p>In April, the City of Fort Worth Public Art Program unveiled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/1409811610425398\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Energetic by Blessing Hancock<\/a>, a Tucson, Arizona, artist with more than 60 public artworks situated around the world. At 11 feet tall, Energetic encourages interaction with delicate latticework and rings of inscribed words following the piece\u2019s m\u00f6bius strip circular shape. The 160 words were collected from community members during a 2023 Juneteenth celebration in Sycamore Park, where the sculpture is now located. Language contributed by members of the public is a frequent feature of Ms. Hancock\u2019s artworks, in keeping with her focus on amplifying voices of the communities where her works will be sited.<\/p>\n<p>In a press release, Ms. Hancock said, \u201cI wanted to create something that felt alive in a place that brings nature, movement, and community together \u2026. What I hope people feel when they experience Energetic is a sense of curiosity and play. You can walk around it, under it, and through it. It changes depending on how you move and when you visit, reflecting the energy of a community that is always evolving and coming together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/glasstire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Civitas-by-Blessing-Hancock-7-CREDIT_-Raul-Rodriguez.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Civitas-by-Blessing-Hancock-7-CREDIT_-Raul-Rodriguez-600x400.jpg\" alt=\"A curvilinear large metal public sculpture with words in rings cut into the shape, lit with purple light outside in front of a building.\" class=\"wp-image-361514\"  \/><\/a>Blessing Hancock, \u201cCivitas,\u201d at the Lewisville Public Safety building. <br \/>Photo: Raul Rodriguez<\/p>\n<p>In December 2025, Ms. Hancock completed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityoflewisville.com\/about-lewisville\/things-to-do\/art-in-lewisville\/public-art\/completed-works\/civitas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Civitas<\/a>, a public artwork stationed at the Tittle McFadden Public Safety Center in Lewisville, Texas. Civitas also includes 72 phrases contributed by community members on the theme of public safety, which were then cut into the 14-foot stainless steel ring-shaped sculpture.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/glasstire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Gathered-Radiance-Installation_Carlyn-Ray-Designs.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"399\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Gathered-Radiance-Installation_Carlyn-Ray-Designs-600x399.jpg\" alt=\"Two people on a construction lift installing a sculpture of suspended glass bubbles in transparent purple, red, orange, yellow, green, and blue tones.\" class=\"wp-image-361515\"  \/><\/a>Artist Carlyn Ray and an assistant installing her \u201cGathered Radiance\u201d glass sculpture in the Abilene Heritage Square Library<\/p>\n<p>In Abilene, Carlyn Ray, a Dallas-based glass artist, similarly engaged community members for her project at the Abilene Heritage Square Library. Unveiled on Saturday, May 16, Gathered Radiance is a 25-foot-tall conglomeration of glass forms resembling liquid bubbles and flowing lines, suspended within the library\u2019s three-story atrium. Of the sculpture\u2019s 400 elements, 100 were made with the participation of community members during artist-led workshops in Abilene. Her process echoed her longstanding <a href=\"https:\/\/carlynraydesigns.com\/about-the-artist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">work with the public in Dallas<\/a>, where she runs the Dallas Glass Art community studio and the Art Reaching Out hands-on STEAM education program in Dallas schools.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/glasstire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Community-Participation-Workship_Hands-On_Carlyn-Ray-Designs.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"399\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Community-Participation-Workship_Hands-On_Carlyn-Ray-Designs-600x399.jpg\" alt=\"People at work tables paint glass pieces in various colors, with a suspnded glass sculpture hanging behind them.\" class=\"wp-image-361516\"  \/><\/a>A community participation workshop for Carlyn Ray\u2019s \u201cGathered Radiance\u201d glass sculpture in Abilene. <\/p>\n<p>In a press release, Ms. Ray said, \u201cPublic art should feel deeply connected to the people and place it represents. When a community participates in the process, the work becomes more than an installation \u2014 it becomes a shared reflection of identity, memory, and belonging. Getting to know each community is always my favorite part of the work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gathered Radiance is her latest public art installation in Texas, part of a growing list of sites that includes the Garland Central Library, The Lamplighter School and Ronald McDonald House in Dallas, and forthcoming projects at Dripping Springs Community Library, Fort Worth Botanic Garden, and the new Crandall High School Performing Arts Center.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, May 20, the <a href=\"https:\/\/artcollection.sa.gov\/Browse\/artworks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">City of San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture<\/a> celebrated the 30th anniversary of the city\u2019s public art ordinance by unveiling two new artworks by local artists Diana Kersey and RHYS.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/glasstire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Diana-Kersey-Creatures-of-the-Creek-A-Fragile-Balance.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Diana-Kersey-Creatures-of-the-Creek-A-Fragile-Balance-600x400.jpg\" alt=\"A large ceramic sculpture of fanciful animal forms including birds and a lizard, on a city sidewalk.\" class=\"wp-image-361519\"  \/><\/a>Diana Kersey, \u201cCreatures of the Creek: A Fragile Balance,\u201d 2025<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Kersey\u2019s Creatures of the Creek: A Fragile Balance is a large-scale ceramic sculpture composed of several interconnected geometric elements based on animal, plant, and insect forms. The sculpture responds to the flora and fauna of San Pedro Creek, which flows nearby, with depictions of an anole lizard, a green kingfisher, a cottontail rabbit, a red-eared slider turtle, and nine-banded armadillo common throughout South Texas. Creatures of the Creek is Ms. Kersey\u2019s fourth public artwork for the City of San Antonio.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/glasstire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Rhys-Metro-Radiance.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Rhys-Metro-Radiance-600x400.jpg\" alt=\"A detail view of a public sculpture with colored glass panels installed on metal poles in a cityscape.\" class=\"wp-image-361520\"  \/><\/a>RHYS, \u201cMetro Radiance,\u201d 2025<\/p>\n<p>Metro Radiance by Rhys Munro, also known as RHYS, is a 15-foot tower of colored glass in shades of yellow, blue, red, pink, and purple. The sculpture stands on a median at the intersection of Santa Rosa and Commerce Streets, casting rainbow colors on the concrete in sunlight. Metro Radiance is Ms. Munro\u2019s first public art commission for the City of San Antonio.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/glasstire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Veryl_Goodnight.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Veryl_Goodnight-600x400.jpeg\" alt=\"A bronze statue of a woman bottle-feeding a baby bison, in a river park landscape.\" class=\"wp-image-361518\"  \/><\/a>A detail view of Veryl Goodnight, \u201cBack from the Brink,\u201d a bronze sculpture installed along the Concho River Legacy Trail in San Angelo <\/p>\n<p>In San Angelo, the first of many public sculptures has been installed along the the Concho River, an initiative by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conchoriverlegacytrail.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Concho River Legacy Trail<\/a>, a recently formed nonprofit dedicated to honoring the history of the West Texas region through a series of narrative bronze sculptures. Back from the Brink by Colorado artist Veryl Goodnight depicts a prairie woman bottle-feeding a baby bison. Tim Newton, Curator of the nonprofit organization, told Glasstire he was able to acquire the sculpture at auction, and thought it an ideal start to what will become a $30 million project to install 18 bronze sculptural narrative vignettes throughout a former 50-acre golf course reimagined as a themed public sculpture park.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/glasstire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Concho-River-Legacy-Trail.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Concho-River-Legacy-Trail-600x450.jpg\" alt=\"A serene river alongside a landscaped public park with trees and trails.\" class=\"wp-image-361517\"  \/><\/a>Concho River Legacy Trail in San Angelo<\/p>\n<p>Soon to follow will be a buffalo sculpture by Canadian artist Richard Loffler and a dramatic, 17-foot-tall sculpture of a Comanche Indian titled The Rainmaker by John Coleman, just two among many further sculptures to be installed, with a goal of completing the Concho River Legacy Trail project by 2029. The vignettes were designed by a team led by Mr. Newton, based on stories of West Texas contributed by community members, some with longstanding familial connections to the region.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a thematic sculpture installation that is equal to anything in America,\u201d Mr. Newton said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New public art projects are popping up in locations around Texas, including the atrium of the Abilene Heritage&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":817480,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,336399,336400,336401,336402,336403,336404,336405,336406,336407,7371,7372,336408,336409,336410,336411,336412,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-817479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-america","tag-art-reaching-out","tag-blessing-hancock","tag-bronze-sculptures","tag-carlyn-ray","tag-city-of-fort-worth-public-art-program","tag-city-of-san-antonio-department-of-arts-and-culture","tag-concho-river-legacy-trail","tag-dallas-glass-art","tag-diana-kersey","tag-fort-worth","tag-fortworth","tag-john-coleman","tag-public-art-in-texas","tag-rhys","tag-rhys-munro","tag-richard-loffler","tag-texas","tag-tx","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116625649049239440","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=817479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/817480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=817479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=817479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}