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Guylene Ozlanski can’t wait to see how 10 Valley artists capture the HeART of Goodyear.
The public art project featuring themed 5- by 6-foot fiberglass hearts to be installed and painted onsite at 10 locations is part of the city’s upcoming year-long celebration of Goodyear’s 75th anniversary, Ms. Ozlanski, Goodyear’s arts and culture administrator, said via telephone Thursday, Oct. 1.
“On Nov. 19, 2021, we’ll be 75,” she said. Hearts will promote civic pride, include reference to the 75th anniversary, and represent a specific decade from 1940 to 2020 as well as Goodyear’s future.
The artists, the decades they will represent and the sites of their art installations are:
Esther BeLer Wodrich, Litchfield Park: 1940s, Loma Linda Park, 430 E. Loma Linda Blvd.;
Jenita Landrum-Bittles, Phoenix: 1950s, Parque de Paz, 1601 N. Palo Verde Drive;
Adam and Addie Turner, Goodyear: 1960s, Goodyear Community Park, 3075 N. Litchfield Road;
Lucretia Torva, Phoenix: 1970s, Goodyear Municipal Complex Library, 14455 W. Van Buren St.;
Jessi Kerr, Avondale: 1980s, Estrella Vista Park North, 2575 S. 157th Ave.;
Oliverio Balcells, Tempe: 1990s, Wildflower Park South, 16150 W Desert Bloom St.;
Emma Garcia, Scottsdale: 2000s, Falcon Park, 15050 W. Indian School Road;
Susan Rossell, Tolleson: 2010s, Goodyear Ballpark, 1933 S. Ballpark Way;
AnnMarie Perry, El Mirage: 2020, Foothills Community Park, 12795 S. Estrella Parkway; and
Nathan Carmichael, Goodyear: Future, Bullard Wash Park, 152nd Drive and Virginia Avenue.
Throughout October, each artist will research city history pertaining to the decade they were selected to represent. They also will engage with the public to gather feedback about what residents would like to see depicted on the hearts, Ms. Ozlanski said.
Each will design their artwork based on that research and feedback, and present their proposals to the Arts & Culture Commission’s Public Art Subcommittee at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28 for approval.
Ms. Ozlanski said the hearts, which are 5 feet tall, 6 feet wide and 40 inches deep, will be installed at each site at the end of October, and the artists should begin painting in November so the public can watch as they transform their blank canvases brush stroke by brush stroke.
“People love to come out and see artists doing what they do,” she said, urging residents and visitors alike drop by throughout the process. “I’m going to encourage them to visit all of the sites. I really hope they do the heart tour and get a sense of where we are.”
Signage is expected to be installed in December, with unveilings in January 2021 to kick off 75th anniversary activities.
Kelly O’Sullivan can be reached at kosullivan@newszap.com or 760-963-1697.
Kelly O’Sullivan News Editor | Litchfield Park& Goodyear @AzNewsmedia
Kelly O’Sullivan is a longtime journalist who joined Independent Newsmedia in January 2020, after returning to the Valley from Twentynine Palms, California, where she worked for eight years as a communications specialist for the U.S. Marine Corps. When she’s not covering stories of interest to Litchfield Park, Goodyear and other Southwest Valley residents, she stays busy rediscovering Arizona and photographing its spectacular landscapes and wildlife.
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