Public Art Exhibits

The Town of Parker believes that the permanent placement of art in public places serves to enrich, stimulate, and enhance the aesthetic experience in the Town. Public art also contributes to the Town's economic draw and is an ongoing educational tool for the community.

WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE ART AROUND DOWNTOWN PARKER?
There’s an App for that!
Public art just got technical! Introducing Otocast, Parker Arts’ new Public Art Walking Tour App! With Otocast, art lovers have a free art gallery right at their fingertips! Discover the locations of all of Parker Arts’ current public art installations, listen to recordings from the artists themselves and learn more about their works, and even check out pictures of the art displays! Just download Otocast in the app store, select Parker Arts, and start your tour!
 
                   

Jacks

The first public art installation in Discovery Park is the larger than life, iconic “Jacks” by Christopher Weed, which will act as a beacon and a gateway to downtown Parker. This sculpture, like the park itself, speak to a simpler time of connections to friends, family and community.

 

ManEater

Following suit with the trend of combining utility with beauty, “ManEater” by
Jim Choate, is a welded steel shark that doubles as a bike rack. Man Eater was intended to give the viewer an up close and personal idea of the average size of a young adult Great White Shark. Please feel free to park and lock up your bike in the belly of this predator before exploring Discovery Park.  

Harmony Park

Harmony Park Musical Classroom is an interactive public art exhibit installed on the PACE Center’s East Patio. Harmony Park was created by the Freenotes Company of Hesperus, Colorado. These outdoor wind and percussion instruments are weatherproof and designed to be played together easily because they are tuned to the pentatonic scale. There are no wrong notes, all of the sounds are harmonious and knowledge of music, keys or scales is not necessary. The sounds are mellow and ethereal so as not to disturb others. All instruments are wheelchair accessible, and they can even be a tool for music therapy to improve cognitive ability, communication and motor skills. 
 

Nucleus

“Nucleus” by Tim Upham of Fort Collins was installed in front of the PACE Center in May 2012. The 24-foot tall multi-colored spiral fuses art with science and is lit by halogen and LED lights. Upham makes site-specific public art and he has incorporated some of the leftover building materials from the PACE Center construction into the sculpture. 


 

The Dance

This sculpture by Lee Proctor is inspired by the spring time dance of the Sandhill Crane. It is also a celebration of the incredible displays and rituals of all bird life. And beyond that it symbolizes the art of dance in all it’s myriad of forms, from ancient indigenous cultures dancing by the fire to modern day ballet. The sculpture was a public favorite of the 2014-15 Art Encounters exhibit and Town Council purchased it in May 2015. Its permanent home is now the plaza on the west side of The Schoolhouse.
  
  

Freedom Through Safety

In June 2010, artist Adam Schultz was commissioned to produce an innovative public art sculpture for the Town of Parker’s new Police Station. Schultz’s creation, “Freedom through Safety,” features a life-sized bronze eagle in flight, held aloft 14 feet in the air on two vertical stainless steel pillars. One pillar represents safety and the other symbolizes strength. The base of the sculpture includes a “circle of hands” -- tiles pressed with hand prints of local community members from young children to senior citizens, metaphorically representing the support and involvement of the community.
 

Dr. Heath

A bronze statue of Dr. Walter Heath, an integral character in Parker history, is displayed on the northeast corner of Mainstreet and Pikes Peak Place. Created by local artist Don Budy, this project was made possible by Parker Adventist Hospital, Dr. Heath’s grandchildren, Edward V. Heath and Clair Heath Fink, David A. Van Landschoot and Stevan Strain. 
      
      
             
 
 

Colid #7

Denver artist Emmett Culligan donated his piece titled “Colid #7” to the PACE Center in 2013. The sculpture is placed on Pine Drive at the western entrance to PACE. 
Culligan's art often focuses on the manipulation of metal, wood, stone and glass, and references common forms found in everyday life. He says, “Within my work, an emphasis is placed on the natural inherent qualities of material interacting formally to access human emotion and spirituality.”
  

Somewhere Down The Lazy River

In 2015, artist Mario Miguel Echevarria won the commission to create a piece of public art for the Parker Recreation Center's new indoor Leisure Pool. Inspired by kids' love of animals and a desire to celebrate Colorado's native aquatic species, he created a three-part piece in which kid power is amplified by the uniquely amazing skills of Colorado's river and lake inhabitants. You'll find a boy flying with a Painted Turtle, a girl surfing with a Cutthroat Trout, and a girl riding on a Clark's Grebe. The works are crafted from ceramic tile and aluminum sheet. As the artist says "When people see a kid surfing on a fish the size of a VW Bug, they will never look at a trout the same way again!" 

I'm Dreaming With My Brain Awake

Artist Sandy Friedman says of this piece, "The environment of Colorado and the Southwest significantly influences my work. I draw from the energy of our environment - the mountains, sky, weather, plains, etc. My sculpture represents the energy found in totems and the interaction of the negative spaces created by the sculpture's shapes. Elements in the sculpture represent moments in time, father sky, mother earth and the vastness of the land."

 Click here to see our Utility Box artwork.

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Art Encounters

Art Encounters is a year-long outdoor sculpture exhibit that showcases a number of sculptures, in various media and styles, displayed in highly visible areas in Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Roxborough, and Parker. The project is designed to promote public interest in art, develop community pride and draw visitors to the retail or civic areas where they are displayed. The public is invited to view the art in the program and vote for their favorite piece by visiting www.douglas.co.us/artencounters. Artists are encouraged to submit entries in January of each year via www.callforentry.org. 

From June 2017 through May 2018, the Town of Parker is exhibiting five sculptures at various locations along Mainstreet to highlight Parker’s growing Creative District in Downtown.

Barley Dance

By Kathryn Vinson
Carved Stone (Limestone)
Location: The Schoolhouse

Barley Dance immortalizes the wide open plains of Colorado in carved Limestone. The centerpiece of this neo-classical carved stone monument is the twisting, swirling barley stalks that evoke the push and pull of the windy plains. This piece is for sale.

 

Double Bench II (Basics)

By Matthias Neumann
Wood (2x4)
Location: Next to Ruth Memorial Chapel
 
"Double Bench II (basics)" is part of an ongoing series of public sculptures realized over the past two years that explore an abstract notion of form, space and utility. The artist wants this work to be experienced both as an abstract piece of art and a usable and interactive community structure.
 

  

Duo

By Suzanne Kane
Welded Steel
Location: PACE Center
 
Outside of the PACE Center “Duo” will catch the eye of anyone driving down Mainstreet. This piece is for sale. 

 

 

Bazinga

By Shannon Sargent
Painted Aluminum
Location: Opposite the Parker Chamber of Commerce
  
A loving homage to popular science, culture and TV, “Bazinga,” which will be across the street from Parker’s visitor center, is uniquely quirky and charming. KaPow! Bang! This is a hallmark to the comic book fan and little kid inside all of us. This piece is for sale.
  
 

Six Directions

By Sandy Friedman
Materials: Steel
Location: Mainstreet in front of Town Hall
 
“Six Directions” is a menagerie of welded steel and painted bits and bobs, creating a spacey and futuristic monolith. The rusty finned base clashes with the clean and modern orbs towards the top of the object: truly, this is a clash of old and new. This piece is not for sale.
 

Say Cheese

By Justin Deister
Plated Steel, fiberglass, paint
Location: O'Brien Park
 
As kids, we delight in little things that we soon grow up and forget about, like gobs of glue and faces in the clouds. I enjoy bringing nature, stories, history, even random bits and pieces of junk back to our attention and stirring them around.

To learn more about the Douglas County Art Encounters Program click here or ' target="_blank">watch this video.