By Mayor Cameron Smyth
I
f you’re out and about is Santa Clarita, you are bound to run into one of many public art pieces installed throughout our community. Whether it’s a sculpture, mural, painting or sidewalk poetry, talent and creativity are apparent in every piece featured.
Take some time to enjoy the varied public art pieces in our City and support the work of local artists in the process!
The best place to start when looking for public art in Santa Clarita is SantaClaritaArts.com/PublicArt. On the website, you have the ability to launch an online tour of all our City’s public art pieces.
In addition, the site features an interactive map to help you find the address and location of the artwork so that you can plan your in-person visit! If you have an interest in a specific type of art, you can also narrow down your public artwork search by painting/mural, sidewalk poetry or sculpture.
Some of the must-see paintings and murals in our community are Inertia, California Vaqueros and the Community Mosaic Mural.
Installed just last year, Inertia by Miguel A. Del Real is located at the Santa Clarita Skate Park and features unique color combinations along the walls of the building.
California Vaqueros by Nicole Punster can be found on Main Street in Newhall on an exterior wall. The mural tells the story of the original cowboys who settled the ranch lands in central and southern California with the use of vibrant colors and depictions.
Last, the Community Mosaic Mural is located along the South Fork Trail, between Valencia Boulevard and McBean Boulevard. The mosaic mural, developed by ARTree and Shelly Mussenden, is comprised of beautiful tiles that add a stunning brightness to our community.
For those seeking sculptures in Santa Clarita, I recommend taking a trip to the IMAG_NE sculpture or one of our featured art bears.
IMAG_NE is located in front of the Valencia Library and was developed by artist Emma Anna. The sculpture was built to resemble large scrabble tiles, with the second “I” purposely missing for visitors and residents to stand in and complete the word.
The theme of imagination ties in perfectly with the goals of the Santa Clarita Public Library, making the sculpture’s current location an ideal home. Santa Clarita is also home to six art bears. Each art bear is a life-sized representation of a California Grizzly Bear constructed with fiberglass and various art tied to the bear’s theme.
If you have an interest in poetry, a quick walk on some of Santa Clarita’s streets will bring you to Sidewalk Poetry like Small Town Remembered. Small Town Remembered by Katherine Ward is etched into a portion of the sidewalk on Soledad Canyon Road. The printed words state:
A country home, once unknown.
Streets grow like rivers breaking
ground. People come like rain.
Small town at heart, we still
feel it beat. We remember.
Interested artists can discover more about the project at SantaClaritaArts.com/SidewalkPoetry.
The public art examples mentioned above are just a glimpse of the wonderful art installations featured in Santa Clarita. Next time you are on a walk, run or bike ride in our City, see which ones you can spot! To learn more about Santa Clarita’s public art, virtual exhibitions, art resources and more, visit SantaClaritaArts.com.
Mayor Cameron Smyth is a member of the Santa Clarita City Council and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in his column are those of the City and do not necessarily reflect those of The Signal.
