Past Public Art Projects
View this collection of public art projects that were at Arts District Liberty Station
Previous Installations at the Station
A Dime to Call Home
ARTIST: Michelle Montjoy
Installed October 2019 – October 2024
DESCRIPTION: A collection of sea bags cast in cement, revealing bits of soft clothing and “arms” knitted from nautical rope reaching up from each bag, this installation represents the transformations new recruits experience upon entering the military and its contrasts to home life. The artist would like to add a public engagement element to the installation by knitting on tabletop looms or casting a small time capsule of sea bags with school groups.
Afoxe
ARTIST: Brad Howe
Installed July 2016- July 2024
DESCRIPTION: One of America’s wittiest and most versatile makers of public art, a direct stylistic and spiritual inheritor of Alexander Calder and Joan Miro, a sculptor of broad formal range but consistently expansive spirit. Special thank you to Betsy Lane who played an instrumental role in helping Arts District Liberty Station LS secure this piece.
Fuji San
ARTIST: Jeffery Laundeslager, Encinitas, CA
Installed April 2011-April 2024
DESCRIPTION: The graceful kinetic pieces have been described as visual tai-chi. The artist’s work is in many private collections as well as numerous public sites. Special thank you to Betsy Lane who played an instrumental role in helping Arts District Liberty Station LS secure this piece.
Reflexion
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH: ArtBuilds
Installed June 2023- March 2024
DESCRIPTION: Mirrored columns and rotatable prisms create lenses into our perception. Amidst distortion and clarity, it empowers us to take control, change perspectives, and rediscover what’s overlooked. Multiple viewpoints help reveal the extraordinary and reshape the impossible.
Here Comes the Sun
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH: ArtBuilds
Installed June 2023- March 2024
DESCRIPTION: Mirrored columns and rotatable prisms create lenses into our perception. Amidst distortion and clarity, it empowers us to take control, change perspectives, and rediscover what’s overlooked. Multiple viewpoints help reveal the extraordinary and reshape the impossible.
Sky Mosaic
ARTIST: David Krimmel, Normal Heights
Insalled April 2018- January 2022
DESCRIPTION: This 30’ x 8’ foot installation on an arcade rooftop walkway was created using 1,200 colored transparent tiles that “fluttered” in the wind. Inspired by the original tiles in Liberty Public Market, the piece cast colorful shadows depending on sun and season.
Rolling it Forward
ARTIST: Jeremy Nuttall, Poway
Installed July 2018- December 2021
DESCRIPTION: This structure represented a boat and rolling waves made entirely of community-painted skateboards. It built on the concept of “Pay It Forward” and required the support and involvement of the community to be completed through public painting events. The project referenced two important histories of San Diego both the Naval and Maritime histories along with the influence San Diego has had on the progression of skateboarding and the communities they connect.
Nikigator
ARTIST: Niki de Saint Phalle(1930-2002)
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH: Mingei International Museum
Installed July 2019- September 2021
DESCRIPTION: Mingei International Museum’s beloved Nikigator was moved from her original home while the museum was being renovated. The large-scale sculpture had been restored by Lech Juretko of ArtMosaic Inc., who assisted Saint Phalle with her later work. While on vacation at Liberty Station, Nikigator was truly enjoyed by guests and was returned to her native Balboa Park habitat in the fall of 2021.
Walk the Labyrinth
ARTIST: Lauren LeVieux
Installed November 2019 – March 2020
DESCRIPTION: Artist Lauren LeVieux’s Walk the Labyrinth, was selected as the 2019 Illuminate the Night temporary light installation. It is a digital interactive art installation featuring the interplay of technology and ancient form. Labyrinths have been used for centuries as tools for problem solving, self-discovery, community connection and for ceremonies as well. This walk-able projection will was a temporary light Installation that corresponds with longer nights between November and March.
twineline
ARTIST: Karl Alex Roesch, Long Beach
June 2018 – May 2019
DESCRIPTION:A braided rope bench that brings together cultures past and present with its design concept. The interwoven rope lines will reflect styles from the Kumeyaay Native tribes to the Navy and modern day sailing.
Toying with Lights
ARTIST: Nico Meyers
Installed November 30, 2018- January 6 2019
DESCRIPTION:Nico Meyers, the creator of “Toying With Lights” , through art, Meyers, explores the beauty of contrast, simplicity versus complexity and uniformity versus randomness. “Our brains are pattern-making machines,” says Meyer. “Individuals and communities actively create and alter patterns. This piece represents shared experience, a quality that makes the holidays special,”- Nico Meyers.
Rest Easy
ARTIST: Lissa Corona, Oceanside and Marina Grize, San Diego
June 2018 – September 2018
DESCRIPTION: This light installation relates to the US Navy and its reverence for camaraderie, protection, love and support. REST EASY is a phrase commonly used by the Navy as an assurance to those they protect. “Rest easy tonight, U.S. Navy has the watch” was tweeted by the Navy in 2012 and the artists are using the text to invoke a variety of emotions and interactions with the viewer.
Ice
ARTIST: Smadar Samson
2015
DESCRIPTION: Ice in San Diego – Usually only floats in our drinks, but this shimmering structure which could be associated with the traditional holiday season, actually represents the chemical properties of ice and water. The water molecules, made of one oxygen atom (red) and two hydrogen atoms (white) bonded together, are floating freely in the pool.
Snow Time Like the Present
ARTIST: Jay Newington
November 9, 2017- January 7, 2018
DESCRIPTION: San Diego got the largest holiday gift ever. Each year, as part of the annual Salute the Season holiday event programming, the Arts District Liberty Station commissioned local artist Jay Newington to create a holiday-themed art installation with lights. With additional support from the Liberty Station Community Association, the historic former Naval Training Center Pump House from 1923 was transformed into a giant holiday gift complete with LED animated snowflakes, a giant bow and festive ribbon.
Liberty Station Public Art
These projects are in partnership with Arts District Liberty Station and organizations.
Birds Without Paradise
ARTIST: Manuel Molina
January 2019- February 2019
DESCRIPTION:A collaboration between the San Diego Unified School District and the San Diego Tijuana Smart Border Coalition, the project was presented to promote cultural and economic cooperation in the CaliBaja Mega-Region. Nearly 350 handmade birds crafted of natural materials including corn husks and painted in vibrant colors.
Flowers
ARTIST: John Dupree
June 2018 – January 2020
DESCRIPTION: A self-taught artist, John Dupree has always had a passion for three-dimensional works. Both abstract and figurative sculptures are included in his portfolio.
Plastic Dinner
ARTIST: Spencer Little
June 2018 – May 2019
DESCRIPTION: Designed out of one continuous wire strand, incorporating abstract and realistic images and kinetic sculpture. The artist’s work has been shown in fine art galleries, music festivals around the world, and he is co-founder of local artist collective, Creative Cohort.
UnderStand
ARTIST: The Aja Project, Shinpei Takeda
December 2009
DESCRIPTION: This exhibit featured stories by immigrant and refugee youths at the Central Promenade in Arts District Liberty Station.
Arcade
ARTIST: El Universal
2017
DESCRIPTION:The photographic exhibition “El Universal, 100 Years in the Life of Mexico & the World” was presented in Liberty Station on Monday, August 28, 2017 as this nationally circulated Mexican newspaper celebrates the centennial of its founding, displaying many of the events that have affected our lives on this planet during this period.
Jr. Project
ARTIST: Outside the Lens
2014
DESCRIPTION: Thesen series, shot by members from OTL’s Youth Council and Summer Fellowship team, depicts the artists and residents working within the NTC Barracks, each demonstrating their own craft or trade. The piece as a whole aims to better the visibility and understanding of the work happening within the NTC Barracks. Outside the Lens’ Youth Council is a team of high school students from the San Diego area passionate about digital media and dedicated to being involved youth leaders in the community. The project was produced in collaboration with the global Inside Out project, established by international photographer and street artist JR. The movement began in 2011, when JR opened his technique to the public in the hope of taking individual messages of personal identity and transforming them into public works of art through group action and effort.
Some Faces from Around Here
ARTIST: Benjamin Cabral
November 17, 2016 – January 17, 2017
DESCRIPTION:Benjamin Cabral used images of the Point Loma community as inspiration and subject of his public art piece. Ben was inspired by community members around Liberty Station, and sought to use the moments they shared as source material for his monumental sculpture/painting.
Treevolution
ARTIST: John McDavid
2015
DESCRIPTION:Liberty Station’s new Art Encounters program features temporary installations from San Diego and Baja artists, including Treevolution by John McDavid, located near Quarters D.
Runner, Mother, Ascend
ARTIST: John McDavid
2015
DESCRIPTION:Robert Michael Jones installed three of his monumental sculptures Runner, Mother, and Ascend in the midst of Arts District Liberty Station, the thriving creative hub of Liberty Station.