Public Art
View Original →Public Art
The Art in Apex policy casts a vision of how public art can enhance the
quality of life for residents and existing public spaces, align with the
character of each specific town location, provide context to the setting or to
influence the community’s interaction with their surroundings.
Public art should also demonstrate the vibrancy of our community, stimulate
creative thinking and enhance our town’s unique culture. Public art in Apex
currently includes murals and sculptures. Read the public art
policy.
Click here to view the open Call for
Artists!
Apex Sculpture Walk
Sculptures are installed in and around downtown Apex in the spring of each
year for an annual Sculpture Walk! The walk typically begins in Hunter Street
Park and ends near the Hwy 55 intersection on Salem Street.
Learn more about the Apex Sculpture Walk
Art in Apex
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Blackbird Circle by Sally Myers
Located at the John M. Brown Community Center parking lot, 53 Hunter Street
2022 Apex Sculpture Walk People's Choice Award Winner
Blackbird Circle is a joyful celebration. The large uneven circle has
decorative spirals, blackbirds landing, and swallows flying. Warm copper
flowers grow into the circle. The circle represents the circle of life and the
copper poppies remind us of those who have passed. The sculpture challenges
you to observe how the sculpture represents the true gestures of the birds by
showing black birds landing for just a moment, while the swallows fly in and
out.
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The Community Laughing Garden Mural by Loren Pease
Located at the Apex Police Department, 205 Saunders Street
The Community Laughing Garden Mural was created through a collaboration the
artist, Apex students, Apex Police Department, Town representatives, and the
Apex Public Art Committee. The idea for the mural originated with a group of
students who wanted to create a mural in support of the social justice
movement.
| Destination Becomes Home by Max Dowdle
_Located on the Apex Public Works Building, 105 Upchurch Street _Destination
Becomes Home highlights feelings of home with bold, eye-catching colors that
are inspired by the special aspects of Apex. From people, to history, to flora
and fauna of nature, and topography itself, Apex has a unique kind of small
town allure of its very own. The mural brings home the point that wherever you
put down roots becomes a part of you. With dynamic imagery, vivid colors and a
calming overall aesthetic, the emotions one experiences reflect when a
destination becomes home.
| Inky by Phil Hathcock
Located at the Apex Police Department, 205 Saunders StreetPhil Hathcock’s
inspiration for this sculpture stemmed from the desire to honor the Inuit
people. Inky is his rendition of an inukshuk. Inukshuks were used by the
Inuit people as a cairn for directional uses and to mark hunting and fishing
grounds. Inukshuk was the symbol for the 2010 Winter Olympics held in
Vancouver. This rendition of an inukshuk was created out of colored stones.
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Jäger by TJ Christiansen
Located at the Apex Nature Park, 2600 Evans RoadDurham-based TJ Christiansen's
Jäger; meaning “hunter” in German, is a fitting name for the large grizzly
bear made of steel. The sculpture brings attention to a species that once
roamed freely across North America. With the human transformation and
industrialization of North America, the grizzly faces extinction in much of
its former range. Grizzly bears represent a keystone predator, having a major
influence on the entire ecosystem they inhabit.
| Trajectory by Dan Kuehl
Located at Town Hall, 73 Hunter Street Trajectory is made of beams of steel
rising toward each other, connecting at the top. As the taller beams meet with
the shorter ones, they create angles. The angles follow a spiraling arch
trajectory. The open space inside the angles is faced with mirrors, reflecting
some space outside, but mostly the space inside. The path through the
sculpture becomes an intertwined comingling of lines. Trajectory is about
interconnectivity and progression along a curvilinear route.
| Uphill Battle by Ethan Morrow
Located at Roger Family Skate Plaza, 1250 Ambergate Station 2022 Apex
Sculpture Walk People's Choice Award Winner
Uphill Battle was created in collaboration with Hattiesburg Alliance for
Public Art and DREAM of Hattiesburg, MS, a teen substance abuse prevention
non-profit. The Hattie Hundred is an annual bike race fundraiser for DREAM of
Hattiesburg; Uphill Battle was displayed along the route from April 2018 –
July 2019. The sculpture depicts a wildly ambitious biker, leading a pack of
competitors, to conquer a gnarly, nearly vertical hill. The character’s
ambition is synonymous with those impacted by the DREAM of Hattiesburg
Program.
Downtown
Art Walk
The Downtown Art Walk is an organized tour of public and private art
installations ranging from sculptures to murals! Stop in restaurant and shops
along the way to enjoy all that downtown Apex has to offer.