A new Arlington housing development will have a new sculpture commemorating the Civil Rights Movement, and the developer is partnering with Create Texas to find a local artist.
The sculpture will be in Arlington Highlands, an expanding development of shops and homes at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive around Interstate 20 and Arbrook Boulevard, according to the city. The art will be at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and West Arbrook Boulevard at a new housing development.
Submissions will be taken by Create Texas, a local group that promotes artists, offers low-cost space for creating art and organizes festivals and events.
Create Texas owner Mark Joeckel said a public art project like this sculpture is a great way to create a natural gathering place for communities.
Joeckel said that with the focus on the Civil Rights Movement it is also an opportunity to acknowledge the work and sacrifices of people who were involved.
“For the community, it’s a great sign of the support of the life and the movements of civil rights, but it’s also a message of how we think as a community that this is important,” Joeckel said. “As a community, it’s a very exciting time because there’s a developer who feels like that’s an appropriate start for a public art project.”
The sculpture will be funded by the developers of the multi-generational housing development, Joeckel said. That’s important, too, because housing will be intended for everybody from recent UT Arlington graduates to senior citizens.
Artists can submit their proposals to the Create Texas by March 15 at 5 p.m. by emailing PDFs to mark@createtexas.art.
The goal of the art is to evoke the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement, according to Create Texas. But, Joeckel said, it doesn’t have to be a sculpture of King.
“That’s part of the artist’s discretion and what they would like to see,” Joeckel said. “That’s the cool thing with the RFP (request for proposal), you leave it open for that.”
The sculpture will be 15 feet to 20 feet and will stand outdoors, so the city notes that the material must be able to withstand Texas weather extremes.
The artist selected for the job will have a budget of $75,000, including for materials, insurance, site preparation, installment and artist fees.
The selected artist is slated to be announced April 1.
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