Innovative Public Art as Shade

In October 2023, Bloomberg Philanthropies selected Phoenix as one of eight winners of its Public Art Challenge. This unique grant program, launched in 2014, awards $1 million to support temporary public art projects that address important civic issues in cities nationwide and showcases the potential of artists to act as civic leaders. Phoenix's project, ¡Sombra! The Celebration of Shade has commissioned nine artists to create shading and cooling installations in response to extreme urban heat. In the summer of 2025, the installations will be temporarily located in neighborhood parks throughout Phoenix. In fall 2025, they will be reinstalled at Steele Indian School Park for a free, one-day festival celebrating the community's resilience to heat and the critical importance of shade in Phoenix.

Meet the Artists

Chosen from nearly 80 submissions from across the U.S., the artists were selected by a diverse panel of specialists from the City of Phoenix’s Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, the Office of Innovation, the Arts & Culture Department, and local and national artists and design professionals. The winning artists were chosen for their public art concepts’ use of effective, experimental, and innovative materials and processes, creative themes, and community engagement activities.

Learn More about the ¡Sombra! Artists

‭(Hidden)‬ Call for Proposals - Deadline: February 12

Download the Call for Proposals Descargue las instrucciones de la propuesta

Artist Support

Sombra Lead Artists.PNG

The Project Team, led by the Arts and Culture Department, also includes two Phoenix artists, Fausto Fernandez (L) and Maria Salenger (R), who will work closely with the selected artists to develop and implement their proposed ideas fully.

Get Involved

¡Sombra! will include workshops, educational activities, and festive events for artists, civic leaders, and residents to discover new, creative ways to adapt to Phoenix’s extreme urban heat.

Questions?

For questions or more information, please contact Carrie Brown, deputy director, at carrie.brown@phoenix.gov.

The project is a collaboration between Arts and Culture, Parks and Recreation, the Office of Innovation, the Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, and the Office of Mayor Kate Gallego.

Innovative Public Art as Shade​