Oklahoma City SkyDance Bridge recognized as
one of the nation’s top 50 public art projects
(June 18, 2012) - Oklahoma City SkyDance Bridge, a public
artwork and pedestrian bridge commissioned by the City of Oklahoma City has
been named as one of the 50 best public art projects by the 2012 Public Art
Network Year in Review by Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading
nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education.
The annual Year in Review program recognizes
the most exemplary, innovative, permanent or temporary public art works
created or debuted in the past year. The 2012 Year in Review awardees were
chosen from more than 393 works from 147 cities across 40 states and three
countries.
Three independent public art experts—Jean Greer, principal
at The Public Art Collaborative; Daniel Mihalyo, architect/artist at Lead
Pencil Studio; and Celia Munoz, artist—curated the 2012 Year in Review.
Their selections were announced on June 7 at the Americans for the Arts
Public Art Preconference in San Antonio. The artists and commissioning
organizations involved in creating and supporting these public art works
received letters of congratulations and certificates from Americans for the
Arts.
The 380-foot-long Oklahoma City SkyDance pedestrian bridge
and sculpture spans Interstate 40 near Harvey Avenue. The bridge’s soaring
architecture was inspired by Oklahoma’s state bird, the scissor-tailed
flycatcher. The pedestrian walkway is 20 feet wide, bridge span:
380-feet long, with a height of 192-feet above the highway. It is
located at the heart of the future MAPS 3 downtown park, which is expected
to begin construction next year.
“SkyDance Bridge
exemplifies what public art should be for a community,” said Stan Carroll,
member of the design team. “It’s a great example of pride from the
design professionals to the multi-disciplinary teams, to the contractors and
the public. Other design team members are Hans Butzer, Laurent
Massenat, Ken Fitzsimmons, Chris Ramseyer, David Wanzer, and Jeremy
Gardner.”
“By creating a sense of identity of places we
inhabit, public art makes an enduring impact on our lives,” said Robert L.
Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “We congratulate the
artists and commissioning groups of the 12th annual Public Art Year in
Review and look forward for honoring more great works in the coming years.”
Since 2000, the Public Art Network Year in
Review has annually recognized outstanding public art projects through an
open call submission and juror selection process. The Year in Review program
is the only national award that specifically recognizes public art projects.
Previous Oklahoma City Public Art Projects recognized by
the Public Art Network include the Oklahoma City National Memorial by Hans
Butzer, Torre Butzer and Sven Berg in 2000 and The History of Bricktown
(mosaic murals outside Bricktown Ballpark) by Susan Morrison.
Contact: Kristy Yager
297-2550 / 863-2831
