PHX Reporter

Bloomberg Philanthropies has selected the City of Phoenix as one of 17 finalist cities to receive up to $1 million as part of its Public Art Challenge. This unique grant program supports public art projects that address essential local civic issues in cities nationwide.

Phoenix's proposed project, ¡Sombra!, aims to address heat mitigation by creating a family-friendly festival introducing a dialogue about Phoenix's urban heat challenges to a new audience. The festival will engage residents with experiential and educational public art installations and activities for children, food, and music to celebrate the community.

¡Sombra! will foster community dialogue among residents about the city's extreme heat challenges. The project will feature up to 12 artists whose work responds to the urban heat crisis. These works may include shade and cooling structures that create street-scale microclimates; installations that promote the protective beauty, comfort, and cooling power of hats and parasols; and other participatory arts experiences that provoke dialogue about rising temperatures and sustainable heat-mitigating tactics. These installations will debut at the one-day ¡Sombra! Festival but installations will remain on display for a year.

Phoenix was selected as a finalist from more than 150 project proposals from cities in 40 U.S. states. This fall, Bloomberg Philanthropies will select up to 10 winning cities to execute their projects over the next two years.

Visit publicartchallenge.bloomberg.org to learn more about the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge.

Original source can be found here.