Fort Worth Public Art

Congratulations to local artist Carol Acedo on the approval of her Final Design for Fire Station #43! Carol’s design creates a nostalgic feeling of peace and community while honoring the history of the area’s ranchland by depicting the cattle, green spaces, and trees once planted by the Walsh Family. Comprised of four layers of cut aluminum, the design incorporates tonal shifts with angled light to create a scene of dedicated firefighters as they watch over the community in recognition of the risks they take to help others. When the firefighters are called to duty, the centered Maltese Cross, a symbol of protection, courage, and self-sacrifice, will change from white to blue for a duration of 30 minutes as a signal to the community and an opportunity for reciprocal support through thoughts and prayers.

We’re excited to see this one take shape!





City of Fort Worth

Looking for calls for art, grants, exhibitions, commissions, residencies, or creative collaborations? They’re all happening right here — and now there’s one place to find them:

Culturalyst: Fort Worth, it’s free to join, build your artist profile, and connect with opportunities in our local creative community. Whether you’re emerging or established, this is how we help make sure Fort Worth artists get seen, supported, and hired.

Create your free profile and get seen.
Join today ➜ fortworth.culturalyst.com
or follow the link in our bio

Join us for the next FWAC meeting, Monday, May 18th, beginning at 5:30pm, at the Ella Mae Shamblee Library (1062 Evans Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76104)

Image Credit: Sipping From the Wetland by Anitra Blayton (Alliance Park)

Interested to learn more about the artworks commissioned that stimulate dialogue and collaboration, representing Fort Worth’s rich history? Public participation is highly encouraged!

Riverside Park Project Installation update!

The crew from BNS - Ball-Nogues Studio is hard at work, and installation of the ground mural entitled “The Secret Language of Trees” in Riverside Park is taking shape! Today the Fort Worth Police Department Mounted Patrol paused for a photo with the artwork.

The Riverside Park project honors the agricultural heritage of the area and highlights the remaining grove of pecan trees with a grand-scaled artwork visible throughout the entire park and to drivers on Oakhurst Scenic Drive. The artwork acknowledges the trees in the park by making an abstract representation of their root systems. Where roots fan out below the existing concrete path, a multi-hued radial pattern, suggestive of roots, will be applied in a durable coating.

Riverside Park Project Installation update!

The installation of the ground mural entitled “The Secret Language of Trees” by Ball-Nogues Studio in Riverside Park starts this week! Over the next couple of days, you will see folks from the Ball-Nogues Design Studio setting up in the park, including a large storage container in the parking lot. The team will be power-washing sections of the sidewalks and then installing the artwork using templates to apply the layers of colorful coating. Installation is expected to take a few weeks, depending on weather.

If you visit you can see the artwork taking shape but be mindful of the closed sections of sidewalk to ensure a smooth application. The Ball-Nogues crew joins us from California, but they are working with local vendors and artists also on the installation. Please give them a friendly welcome to Fort Worth as they create this wonderful addition to Riverside Park!

This week, as part of our features of public art works from the FWPA Collection, we feature selected works from District 9.

Artist Volkan Alkanoglu created a site-specific pedestrian bridge spanning the culvert along Westcreek Drive, helping enhance pedestrian connectivity from the new Westcreek Drive walking path to the Trinity Trails via Kellis Park, Foster Park and Overton Park. Entitled "Drift", the bridge is inspired by the natural formations in and along the creek and the mid-century architecture of the neighborhood. It spans the creek approximately midway between Bilglade and Interstate 20, adjacent to Martin Lydon Avenue on the east and Cordone Court on the west.

At 58 feet long and 12 feet wide, the bridge transforms from a smooth geometric form to an organic shape, widening in the center to offer seating for the public to briefly rest and enjoy the view. The ADA compliant bridge was fabricated using methods similar to ship-building, with a steel skeleton completely sheathed inside and out in reddish-gold Spanish Cedar which oxidizes over time, giving the timber a warm silver patina. There are slight gaps left between cedar boards to allow for expansion and contraction but narrow enough that the steel understructure is not visible.
The Spanish Cedar was sanded to a smooth satin texture and treated with an oil finish. The bridge floor includes features that improve traction when wet and deter skateboarders.

The bridge was fabricated by Ignition Arts in collaboration with Lucas Brown of Brownsmith studios.

Drift received the AIA Indiana Merit Award for Non-Traditional Projects. The public artwork was formally dedicated to the City of Fort Worth on June 4, 2022.

This week, we continue to feature public art works from the FWPA Collection in District 9.

Remnants of 1965 presents Fort Worth’s rich culture and diversity by commemorating an important moment in history to inspire and remind us of what it took for us to get where we are today. Artist Riley Holloway approached his first public art project by using his background in drawing​ ​and​ ​graphic design to create imagery that is​​ ​strong and clear.​ While Holloway maintains visual elements found in his​ ​oil​ ​paintings, he chose to ​fabricate the​ ​artwork​ ​digitally​ to​ ​add​ ​a​​ ​decorative​ ​element​ ​to​ ​the​ ​work that seamlessly integrate​s ​ ​with​ ​the building’s Art Deco​ ​interior​ ​design and color palette.

On Sunday, March 14, 1965, Fort Worth demonstrators rallied in front of City Hall (now the A.D. Marshall Public Safety & Courts Building) to protest vicious attacks on nonviolent activists in Alabama who were marching for African Americans’ constitutional right to vote. Riley Holloway’s Remnants of 1965 celebrates the peaceful, civil rights demonstration and the inspirational community spirit that brought attention to ideas of equality for all.

Inspired by a historic Fort Worth Star-Telegram photograph of the event and moved by the simple expression of joined black and white hands, Holloway’s three painted vignettes draw a modern-day parallel to that moment.

This public art project was supported by the Public Art Fund and dedicated to the City of Fort Worth in 2020.

Early voting for the 2026 Bond election ends this Tuesday 4/28!

Public art is funded through voter-approved bond programs. The city typically sets aside 2% of bond money for public art. Fort Worth policy calls for new infrastructure, including parks and community centers, to incorporate artistic and design elements that enhance the public experience.

Important note: these funds work within the existing City property tax rate. If approved, the bonds are expected to be fully repaid without increasing the City property tax rate.

These projects will be overseen by Fort Worth Public Art, a program managed by Arts Fort Worth and advised by the Fort Worth Art Commission.

Image Credit: "Pieces of Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow," by local artist Gregory Beck, located at the East Division Police Station. This public art project was funded by the 2004 Bond Program and dedicated to the City of Fort Worth on November 16, 2018.

More information can be found here:
https://www.fortworthtexas.gov/departments/the-fwlab/2026-bond

Looking for calls for art, grants, exhibitions, commissions, residencies, or creative collaborations? They’re all happening right here — and now there’s one place to find them:

Culturalyst: Fort Worth, it’s free to join, build your artist profile, and connect with opportunities in our local creative community. Whether you’re emerging or established, this is how we help make sure Fort Worth artists get seen, supported, and hired.

Create your free profile and get seen.
Join today ➜ fortworth.culturalyst.com
or follow the link in our bio