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The City of Tempe strives to make the art at Town Lake
both functional and beautiful. Several tree
sculptures act as monuments for
remembering or memorializing loved ones by persons who have contributed
to the Leaves at the Lake program,
formerly the Adopt-A-Tree program. One
of the pieces of public art is the Words
Over Water consists
of 600 poems and images about people, water and Southwestern life. These capture
emotions and the essence of desert living while also providing beauty for the
levy around Town Lake. Even light fixtures and sidewalks have been decorated
with elements that blend art with the traditional beauty of the area.
The Tempe City Council in 1994 amended the Rio Salado
Specific Plan by adopting a public art master plan for the Rio Salado Overlay
District. The City's mandate to include wide public participation resulted in an
unprecedented dialogue uncovering the potential for art and culture in the Rio
Salado area. The art plan's theme, "Discover the past, engage the present,
serve the future," binds the program together by serving as a springboard
encouraging many related interpretations.
The City of Tempe's Cultural
Services Division administers the City's
public art program, art-in-private development, community arts and programming,
and manages the City's arts facilities. The Division works with the Tempe
Municipal Arts Commission whose mission is to create an atmosphere in which the
arts can flourish and inspire Tempe citizens to recognize the arts as essential
to the whole life of the community.
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