The Brookhaven City Council has approved a new sculpture exhibit to be implemented around the city for a limited time.
The “Wings of the City” sculpture exhibit includes nine sculpture pieces by contemporary Mexican artist Jorge Marín. According to city documents, the Brookhaven Arts and Culture Commission met with representatives of the Jorge Marín Foundation and the Mexican Consulate at a Jan. 12 meeting to discuss bringing the exhibit to the city for a limited time.
At a March 22 council meeting, Assistant City Manager Patrice Ruffin presented the proposed locations for the nine sculptures, which the foundation would loan to the city for a period of 12 months. The proposed locations include the Mexican Consulate, Northeast Plaza on Buford Highway, along the Peachtree Creek Greenway, at the Latin American Association on Buford Highway, at Cross Keys High School, and at Oglethorpe University.
The budget for hosting the exhibit is estimated at $80,000. Ruffin said she anticipated that much of that budget would be reimbursed through sponsorships. Later at the meeting, the council approved a partnership application to the David, Helen, and Marian Woodward Fund for programming support in the amount of $30,000 for the exhibit. Director of Strategic Partnerships Patty Hansen also said that the city had already secured a $10,000 donation from Explore Brookhaven, the city’s tourism organization.
Councilmember Linley Jones spoke highly of the exhibit and the city’s ability to offer programming through public art.
“We are approaching a level of maturity as a city where we can start to really offer these amazing cultural and artistic offerings for the very first time,” Jones said. “The ‘Wings of the City’ exhibit and associated activities are of such tremendous value, and I hope that this is the first of many, many artistic offerings that the city of Brookhaven will have going forward.”
According to the proposal, the sculptures would most likely be installed in early summer.