South Side Light Rail Extension Needs La Phoenikera Artists
Have you noticed that all La Phoenikera Light Rail stations have some sort of art piece incorporated into their design? You might not know, but most of them aren’t from local artists except for a few.
If you are a visual artist in our city, especially a South Phoenix creative, you have the opportunity to submit your work to be selected for a public art display along the stations being built in the South Side.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that the deadline is close AF!
Valley Metro launched a call for artists sometime ago and very few local artists, let alone artists of color have submitted their proposals. That is one of the reasons why the deadline to submit a proposal has been pushed to July 19.
Yes, it’s short notice but if you’ve designed or created an art piece that could be considered for incorporation along the South Central Light Rail extension, this is your chance.
It is very important that the art in the stations reflects the richness of La Phoenikera’s culture, especially South Phoenix’s roots and historic relevance.
On July 13th and July 17 Valley Metro will hold two workshops for artists who are considering applying. The workshops will be held at Luna Culture Lab in Phoenix.
The Sagrado Galleria also organized a workshop that will be held at the gallery in South Phoenix on July 15.
If you’re interested in art and the accurate cultural representation of the area where the project will be developed, this is a great opportunity to inform yourself and ask questions to Valley Metro staff.
Artists are selected by the Stakeholder Art Review Committee, which is made up of residents who live and work in businesses along the tracks. They will have input during the projects’ development. It will also be important to ask Valley Metro about the diversity of that committee (do its members reflect the community’s demographics?).
Valley Metro spokeswoman Corinne Holliday says this is an awesome opportunity for local artists to get involved in public art projects of this scale. The selected artists will work with the design and construction teams, as well as community leaders and public officials.
This call is for all artists in La Phoenikera. There is no specific theme or medium required for the artwork, but it must reflect the city and its culture.
The stations will connect downtown with the South Side all the way to Baseline and are scheduled to be ready by 2023.
Questions about the workshops? Call MB Finnerty, Public Art Administrator at 602-332-4471 or shoot her an email to mfinnerty@valleymetro.org.
To download the Art Project Request for Qualifications, follow this link. To learn more about the project and the submission process go to Valley Metro’s website.
Workshop Details
07/13 5:30 a 7:30 p.m. & 07/17 5:30 a 7:30 p.m. @ Luna Culture Lab, 803 E. Washington St.
07/15 10:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. @ The Sagrado Galleria, 6437 South Central Ave.
