RELEASE: Public Art Installation at Dallas Love Field Receives Recognition from Public Art Year in Review 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 19, 2014

CONTACT: Meg Fullwood
Marketing Manager
Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs
Margaret.Fullwood@dallascityhall.com
214-670-4428

PUBLIC ART INSTALLATION AT
DALLAS LOVE FIELD RECEIVES RECOGNITION FROM
PUBLIC ART YEAR IN REVIEW 2014

DALLAS:  The City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs Public Art Program is pleased to announce that  North Texas Sunrise, by Dixie Friend Gay, has received recognition as one of the top public art installations in the United States this year from American’s for the Arts, Public Art Year in Review. The ceramic tile mural of sunrise breaking behind a field of Texas wildflowers is highly visible in the main lobby of Dallas Love Field Airport and is part of the Love Field Art Program. The mural was hailed as “one of the best public art projects of the year,” in an announcement made by Public Art Review 2014 at the Americans for the Arts Conference in Nashville.

Public Art Year in Review is conducted annually by the members of the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network, recognizing outstanding public art projects that represent the most compelling work for the year from across the country. This year PAN received 345 applications from public art programs and artists of which 37 were selected for recognition of excellence. The Public Art Network Year in Review is the only national program that specifically recognizes public art projects.

“We are honored that Dixie’s work for Dallas was recognized by the panel. “North Texas Sunrise is one of the most highly visible and popular art installations at Love Field,” says Maria Muñoz-Blanco, Director of the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs.  Kay Kallos, Public Art Program Managers adds, “We are so pleased that Dixie Friend Gay’s work has been recognized by the Public Art Network.  It is a notable work among the many new installations by outstanding artists whose work is included in the Love Field Art Program.”

 Dixie Friend Gay’s North Texas Sunrise is a 60 foot long by 18 foot tall ceramic tile wall that towers over the security check point of the Dallas Love Field Airport lobby. The mural is made of some 300,000 pieces of mosaic and hand-glazed ceramic tiles, fabricated by Mosaika Art and Design based in Montreal. With Purple Coneflower in the lower left, Hop Clover in the center, and the large Mexican Hat on the right, the mural represents the vanishing prairie landscape. North Texas Sunrise is part of the Love Field Art Program, part of the City of Dallas Public Art Collection.  

The jurors in this year’s panel are highly-regarded public artists and administrators and include:

Cath Brunner
Seattle, Washington
Cath Brunner directs the Public Art program at 4Culture (Cultural Development Authority of King County), one of the most widely-noticed organizations in the United States. Cath brings more than 25 years of experience as a built-environment innovator.

Ralph Helmick-Helmick Sculpture
Newton, Massachusetts
Sculptor, Ralph Helmick committed himself to public art in the late 1980’s and has completed more than 40 major civic commissions across the United States. His work is included in the Dallas Public Art Collection with an installation at the South Dallas Police Station.

Janet Zweig
Brooklyn, New York
Artist Janet Zweig works primarily in the public realm with recently-installed public works in Kansas City, Milwaukee, Columbus, Orlando and Pittsburgh.

“It’s an honor for my work to have been selected by such an esteemed jury,” says Artist, Dixie Friend Gay. “I’m grateful to the Dallas Public Art program for giving me the opportunity to create this public art installation for Dallas Love Field.”  
About Dixie Friend Gay
Gay is a nationally-recognized artist whose career spans more than 30 years. She is known for her public art commissions, including those at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the Port of Miami and A&M Galveston. Among her many honors, her work has previously been recognized by Americans for the Arts Public Art Year in Review, and was named Texas Artist of the Year in 2003 by the Texas Commission for the Arts.

About the Dallas Public Art Program
The Public Art Program works to enrich the quality of life for the citizens of Dallas and enhance the cultural appeal of the City to visitors by overseeing the integration of high-quality visual art into public spaces. The Program provides opportunities for local and regional artists as well as visual artists from around the globe through commissions of works of public art. The program also supports donations of public art to the City of Dallas that are subject to a review process for acceptance that includes members of the Public Art Committee and the Cultural Affairs Commission. The Public Art Program is a division of the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. http://www.dallasculture.org/publicArt.asp

About the Office of Cultural Affairs 
The Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) provides opportunities for all Dallas citizens and visitors to have access to the arts and the means of cultural expression. The Office of Cultural Affairs works with its citizen advisory board, the Cultural Affairs Commission, to foster the development of the cultural system in Dallas. OCA provides a variety of programs and services, including the management and operations of seven cultural facilities, a public art program, cultural funding programs and WRR Radio. More information on the Office of Cultural Affairs’ programs can be found on its website at http://www.DallasCulture.org.

Photos available by request.