Public Art Program
The City of Mesa Public Art Program was created by a City
Council resolution in 1997.
MESA ARTS CENTER INTEGRATED WORKS
Three public art projects by internationally known artists
have been incorporated into the design of the new
Mesa Arts Center.
All three projects were formally dedicated on September 23,
2005.
Color Walk by Beth Galston. Color Walk
consists of two ribbons of colored glass that are affixed to the
metal guardrails of the second and third levels on the west
façade of the Studios buildings. The imagery for the glass
is based on photographs the artist took in Mesa of the sky at
dusk during a rainstorm. The photographs were digitally
altered to create a painterly effect creating the experience of
pure color and light. The glass panels interact with the
intense sunlight to project light and color into the bridge
walkways.
Fragmented Landscape by Ned Kahn. Two
shade screens adorn the west-facing wall of the theater
building, each consisting of thousands of small aluminum panels
that are activated by wind. The panels of the smaller
screen are perforated with different sized holes that, when
viewed from a distance, create a photographic image of sand
dunes. A blue-anodized finish that coats the larger
screen's panels creates the impression of a vertical sheet of
water, rippled by the wind. *Valley Forward Environmental
Excellence Award winner for Art in Public Places (2006).
Light Storm by Catherine Widgery.
Light Storm consists of over 30,000 stainless steel discs
imbedded into the paving inside and outside the theater lobbies.
Each disc is precisely set at the point where the wave patterns
of two enormous vortices intersect, as if a desert wind had
caught them and blown them through the lobbies onto the Shadow
Walk. The work exists as reflected light only and the
overall patterns can be best seen from the stairways above.