Past Projects

Check out our projects completed within the last year.

  1. Art Installations
  2. Cross Timbers North & South Playground
  3. Denia Park Batting Cages
  4. Fred Moore Park
  5. Hartlee Field Mountain Bike Park
  6. McKenna Park
  7. North Lakes Dog Park
  8. North Pointe Park
  9. Park Properties Trash Grant
  10. South Lakes Park
  11. Southwest Park
  12. Tree Plantings
  13. Wolff's Park
  14. Villages of Carmel Park Master Plan
  15. Bowling Green Park Master Plan
  16. Quakertown Park Musical Equipment

Art Installations

Bonnie Brae Roundabout Sculpture

The Public Art Committee (PAC) commissioned artist Elizabeth Akamatsu to design, fabricate, and install a new sculpture at the Bonnie Brae Roundabout. The center of the roundabout space is sized to accommodate a sculpture that will be fully visible from all directions into the intersection. The PAC commissioned an artist to submit proposals for a theme that considers health, wellness, and play. In February 2022 City Council approved the contract with the artist, Elizabeth Akamatsu to create and install the piece known as “Dog Star”. This piece is inspired by Sirius, the brightest star in the constellation. Sirius appears as a single star to the unaided eye but, in fact, is a binary star system. The two stars orbit each other. “Dog Star” is a play on the binary system. The viewer orbits around the sculpture, creating the illusion of oneness.

From every point on the roundabout, the view of the sculpture, and what the viewer’s eyes capture looking through the windows, the negative space on the sculpture will continually change. The shapes used to create the sculpture are abstractions of medical symbols such as a cross for first aid and three intersecting lines, a symbol of life. The cut-outs on the horizontal plane will create shadows on the ground in the shape of the universally known symbol for “first aid.” The installation will also include landscaping around the pedestal that will help to accentuate the sculpture while blocking oncoming traffic headlights.

Artist: Elizabeth Akamatsu
Cost of Sculpture: $50,000
Sculpture Installation: September 3, 2022
Project Location: Roundabout at Bonnie Brae St. and Scripture St.
Project Manager: John Whitmore

Dog Star Installation Elizabeth Akamatsu

Russ Connell Sculptures

Pedestal Installation: June 1, 2022, through June 8, 2022

The Public Art Committee (PAC) has identified four locations in the Carroll Boulevard linear park for art placement. In May 2022, City Council approved the purchase of the following four sculptures. Russ Connell is a local artist with his design shop in Denton. Russ specializes in metalwork to design abstract, geometric art. Future benches and landscaping is planned pending funding approval.

  • Challenger, 9' tall, White Painted Steel
  • Avalon, 9' tall, Stainless Steel
  • Crazy Horse, 7' tall, Yellow Painted Steel
  • King Moonracer, 5’ tall, Blue Painted Steel

Total Cost of Sculptures: $45,450.00
Project Location: East side of Carroll Boulevard Art Trail between Panhandle St. and Crescent St.
Project Manager: John Whitmore

A nine foot tall, modern, stainless steel geometric sculpture surrounded by trees










Bench People Sculpture

The Public Art Committee commissioned artists to submit proposals for a sculpture at the MLK Recreation Center that embraces its history. The selected Artist, Madeline Wiener, has been creating 'art benches' using limestone since 1998. She enjoys creating works of art that ignite the imagination, lift the spirit, and start a meaningful conversation that engages each viewer. Her sculptures seek to capture the culture and character of each community.

The Artist's inspiration for the sculpture is that the community's women have played a significant role in establishing Quakertown/Denton. This area has become a place where women are powerful and get things done. With TWU also located nearby, the Artist wanted to honor all women of Denton. The Artist created two women engaged in conversation and have a confident and friendly attitude representing the community's mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends. The Artist's intent is for the community to relate to these inspiring figures, and the interactive installation will pique their curiosity.

Artist: Madeline Wiener
Cost of Mural: $72,000
Location: MLK Rec Center, 1300 Wilson St.
Sculpture Installation: December 2021
Project Manager: John Whitmore 

Fetch! Sculpture

The Public Art Committee commissioned an artist to submit proposals for a theme that will reflect the location and aesthetics of the NL dog park and the neighboring Linda McNatt Animal Care & Adoption Center. The Artist's inspiration came from visiting the park and seeing a fundamental interaction between the owners and dogs-playing fetch! The concept is captured in the exaggerated dogs' gestures and precarious balance, suggesting that the pack will topple at any moment and start anew.

Artist: 23 Design Co.
Cost of Mural: $35,000
Location: North Lakes Dog Park, 808 W. Windsor
Sculpture Installation: September 2021
Project Manager: John Whitmore

Foundations of our History Mural

The Public Art Committee commissioned local artist Dan Black to recreate his "Foundations of Our History" mural. This mural was previously painted on a fence along Bonnie Brae Street and celebrated women who have significantly contributed to the Denton community. The women featured are Alice Alexander, Alma Clark, Ruby Cole, Betty Kimble, and Dorothy Minter. For more information about the women, visit the article posted by the Denton Library, Foundation of our History Article.

The Artist began using spray painting as an art medium in late 2007 while pursuing a technical degree. Upon graduation, he determined that he loved painting too much to ignore and began a path of self-education in traditional techniques and mediums. In addition to painting murals, his current works include acrylic and oil painting, layered panel installation, and figure sculpture. The Artist is local and has other murals throughout Denton.

Artist: Dan Black
Cost of Mural: $12,025
Location: Robertson St & Bell St.
Mural Installation: June 2021
Project Manager: John Whitmore

Vela's Trophy

The Public Art Committee commissioned this piece to submit proposals for an outdoor public art project to be located at the G. Roland Vela Athletic Complex. The public art project should reflect the location and aesthetics of the Athletic Complex, with a theme that fits with its location.

The Artist's vision of the sculpture was inspired by Dr. Vela's life as a scientist and his love of soccer which fits with the Athletic complex. The design is inspired by the concept of a "beacon," from the old English verb "to beckon." The free-standing sculpture will be a powerful visual landmark and an iconographic symbol for the community. The Artist envisioned the Vela's Trophy beacon as a visual metaphor for enlightenment and the burst of energy of a creative idea. Additionally, Vela's Trophy has an exterior spherical geodetic structure representing a soccer ball and to chemists and scientists as the Buckminsterfullerene molecule designed by Buckminster Fuller. The center of the sphere has additional spheres that represent molecules and atoms. Additionally, the center of the sphere is a five-pointed star in honor of Texas.

Artist: Ray King
Cost of Sculpture: $100,000
Location: G. Roland Vela Sports Complex, 3801 N. Elm St.
Sculpture Installation: September 2021
Project Manager: John Whitmore

Denton Women's Interracial Fellowship Sculpture

The Public Art Committee commissioned this piece to submit proposals for art projects that will reflect the spirit and context of the Denton Women's Interracial Fellowship (DWIF). DWIF is a maverick group of black and white women who forged friendships and strategies to ease Denton's transition toward racial integration during the 1960s social upheaval. The Denton Women's Interracial Fellowship (DWIF) helped smooth integration in Denton's formerly segregated public schools by bridging racial barriers with friendship and potlucks. They campaigned for racial justice and quality-of-life improvements for Denton's African American citizenry through coordinated action.

The Artist's inspiration for the sculpture bursts with every color of the rainbow, celebrating the visionary women of Denton Women's Interracial Fellowship (DWIF). Through the lens of hope, love, trust, and friendship, they overcame cultural barriers to help Denton re-imagine race relations. The installation's most prominent piece is a monumentally sized disc whose colors morph and change as the person viewing it moves. This animation effect is achieved with a process called "lenticular" art. There's no electricity or computer involved. It's a purely physical phenomenon. For more information about the sculpture, visit the following page, www.dentonwif.com.

Artist: Dina Fisher
Cost of Sculpture: $100,000
Location: Wolff's Park, 108 Industrial St.
Sculpture Installation: December 2021
Project Manager: John Whitmore