FH ponders 5 new public art pieces

FOUNTAIN HILLS - Fountain Hills' ample collection of public art could swell if the Town Council accepts five new pieces tonight.

Fountain Hills has more than 50 public artworks worth at least $1 million, said Town Public Art Committee Chairwoman Sandi Thompson.

Scottsdale, by comparison, has about 60 permanent public artworks commissioned through its municipal public art program.

Of the five new art pieces up for consideration in Fountain Hills, four are sculptures and one is a wall hanging. Their combined value is $122,250:

• Freedom features a mother eagle tending her young. The $19,900 bronze sculpture is proposed for a west island in Fountain Park.

• Lovers is a $25,000 original stone sculpture that Scottsdale-based Zuva Gallery would donate.

• Joy, valued at $48,000, and An All Day Job, valued at $28,000, are stone sculptures. They would be on loan from Zuva Gallery for a year while the town raises money to purchase and install them.

• Beginnings is a 3-D wall hanging valued at $1,350 that would go in the Fountain Hills Community Center.

If the council accepts the art pieces, Fountain Hills would have to muster up enough money to buy and install them.

The town's 1 percent public art fund could cover part of the cost.

An ordinance adopted in 2006 requires developers to include a public art element or donation in commercial, industrial and multi-family projects that is equal to or greater than 1 percent of the value of construction. The money is limited to funding for public arts, according to the town.

The fund's current balance is $31,651.

As far as the remaining costs, Thompson said they are banking on donations and fundraisers.

"Some way, we will try and get the money," she said. "It usually works out."