‘Star of Texas’ Project Inspires Arlington Residents to Dream Big
By Ryan Hunt
Posted on March 23, 2016, March 23, 2016

 

You may have noticed stars popping up across The American Dream City, and each one is part of an exciting project called "The Star of Texas."

"The Star of Texas" project, officially unveiled by the Arlington Museum of Art as an exhibit back in November 2015, celebrates the city's brand, Arlington: The American Dream City, with each star positioned throughout Arlington's Cultural Arts District, Downtown area, the Entertainment District and many other places in the city.

The six-foot fiberglass stars were designed by local artist Chris Cunningham, and artists throughout Texas were invited to submit their interpretation of how they would depict what makes Arlington the American Dream City.

The City's Office of Communication and the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation have produced a video story (included at the top of the article) for each artist, telling the story of their American Dream and the inspiration behind the artwork of their respective star.

There will eventually be 20 stars placed throughout Arlington. So far, 17 stars have been installed at the following locations:

Gene Allen Park/Arlington Museum of Art: "Rainbow" sculpture
- Concept: DeeJay Johannessen; Artist: Izzy Espinoza

Levitt Pavilion/Founders Plaza: "Kaleidoscope of Dreams" sculpture
- Artist: Canvas by Canvas

Meadowbrook Park: "TexScape" sculpture
- Artist: Rock Romano

Mellow Mushroom: "Language" sculpture
- Artist: DeMario Davis

Richard Greene Linear Park: "Bee Active" sculpture
- Artist: Amy Stephens

Kool Keg: "Star Light, Star Bright" sculpture
- Artist: Jennifer Silverton

Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau: "Roses" sculpture
- Artist: Canvas by Canvas

Veterans Park: "Red, White and Blue Quilt" sculpture
- Artist: Sandra Grimland

Stovall Park: "Bad Königshofen" sculpture
- Artist: Sue Wiggins

AISD Professional Development Center: "Education" sculpture
- Artists: AISD students and Linh Nguyen

Tarrant County College: "Word" sculpture
- Artist: Sam Watson

International Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame: "Migration" sculpture
- Artist: DonRay

Parks Mall (1st floor by Nordstrom Rack): "Constellation" sculpture
- Artist: Amy Schultz

Grease Monkey: "Business" sculpture
- Artist: Danielle Zamagni

River Legacy: "Arlington Sights & Sounds of Nature" sculpture
- Artist: Amy Ehrlich

The Sanford House: "Arlington Ascending" sculpture
- Artists: Catherine Wehlburg and Mitcheal Veenstra

J. Gilligan's: "Aiming for the Stars" sculpture
- Artist: Breanne Schwarz

Near Globe Life Park on City Property: "America's Pastime" sculpture
- Artist: Justin Simmons

Two more stars will be installed at a future date:

"Dreaming of Arlington" football sculpture
- Artist: Mike Brown

"A Day in the Life of Arlington" sculpture
- Artist: Amy Schultz

"These stars are raising awareness of the cultural arts and the creativity and talent of many local artists here in Arlington," said Chris Hightower, executive director of the Arlington Museum of Art. "The overwhelming interest in the Star of Texas project has been really positive and we're hopeful these stars will encourage people to dream big."

The $150,000 project was made possible by donations, including $50,000 by each the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation and Women Inspiring Philanthropy.

In April 2016, the City of Arlington's Facebook and Twitter pages will introduce a scavenger hunt encouraging people to visit and take pictures in front of every star, sharing them on the City's social media pages using the hashtag #StarofTexas. Once complete, each resident will receive an Arlington: The American Dream City t-shirt.

"The American Dream in Arlington represents many different voices and ideas in our community," said Arlington's Marketing Communications Manager Jay Warren. "This project speaks to the diversity of our great city and we're excited for people to visit each star and hopefully become inspired to dream big here in Arlington."

For more information on the Star of Texas exhibit, and all other exhibits featured by the Arlington Museum of Art, please call 817-275-4600.

Arlington Tomorrow Foundation, Grant Highlights, Star of Texas Art Project
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