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Congratulations to Estrus Tucker, recipient of Arts Fort Worth’s Heart of Gold Advocate for the Arts Award on September 21, 2023! In 2017, City Council appointed Tucker to the Fort Worth Art Commission where he has served as chairman for the past 5 years. Estrus has tirelessly advocated for the Fort Worth Public Art by making himself available for literally dozens of media interviews in support of public art, and spoke at numerous public art dedications and events. Estrus also gave voice to the inspiring work of local Artists, Art Advocates, Art Organizations and Arts Fort Worth. Under his leadership the Fort Worth Art Commission launched a new Community Partnership Projects Initiative, expanded Artist Listening Sessions to hear first-hand artists’ issues and ideas, and led Town Halls to engage our robustly diverse public. Following a citizen’s concern about the racial portrayal on a historic tile mural, Estrus chaired the Will Rogers Memorial Center Advisory Panel that developed interpretive plaques for the Auditorium and Coliseum historic tile murals, which involved more than two years of research, diverse community focus groups, and consultation with local culture and Texas history experts. As a local and national leader, facilitator and advocate for civil dialogue, Estrus championed Fort Worth Public Art’s invaluable Community Engagement processes and worked collaboratively to enhance efforts of inclusion, cultural equity, and diversity of the pool of emerging and established public artists, and communities. Estrus wholeheartedly believes that Public Art and Public Artists matter because Art is for everyone.
Artist Karla Garcia recently spoke with Glasstire’s Caleb Bell about her studio practice, recent exhibitions, and her first public art project, Seed the Future, coming soon to Trail Drivers Park. Inspired by the dandelion as a migrant flower, the work celebrates the area’s history, symbolizes its present-day community, and plants a seed for the next generation.
The September 18, 2023, regular meeting of the Fort Worth Art Commission has been cancelled. The meeting has been rescheduled for Monday, September 25, 2023, at 5:00 PM at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, 1300 Gendy Street. Please note this meeting is in-person only.
Listening Trees by Steve Parker will be dedicated on Sunday, October 1, 2023, at 1:00p.m. near the Universal Playground at North Park, located at 9000 N. Beach Street. The event will be part of the North Park YMCA’s Fall Fest, a family-friendly event including activities, games, bounce houses, vendors, and a Farmers Market.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHT | Rising Strong
Elizabeth Akamatsu’s landmark sculpture for the new Diamond Hill Community Center, opening soon, is inspired by the strength of neighbors, all of whom left an unforgettable impression on the artist. Her concept stems from the idea of planting a seed, setting roots, and growing a bountiful life.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHT | Will Rogers Memorial Center Plaques
A series of 14 plaques will be added to the Will Rogers Memorial Center including two introductory plaques to provide context for the tile murals and describe the 1936 design process as well as twelve scene-specific plaques with text would provide a balanced and more accurate cultural history.
FEATURED ART
Fabled
Area C Projects’ artwork entitled Fabled draws upon the library’s role as a teller of stories and stories as creators of place. The artists suggest that what people know about a place comes from the stories it tells about itself. Area C Projects partnered with the Fort Worth Public Library to collect pictures, video and stories from residents of Fort Worth over several months.
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Kipp Kobayashi
Kobayashi’s work for FWPA Collective Transition explores the dynamics of social interaction as a result of shared physical space and imaginative experience. Lightheartedly referencing the function of “paperwork” in both work and play, Kobayashi demonstrates how we collectively impact, and are in turn impacted by, what occurs in physical space and our visual site lines.