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ARTISTS WANTED

Downtown Tempe blossoms with ‘AMAZING’ art this weekend

Posted 4/1/23

A giant sunflower and an “AMAZING” piece of art will be added to downtown Tempe’s landscape this weekend during the spring Festival of the Arts.

Kyllan Maney will turn the Sixth …

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ARTISTS WANTED

Downtown Tempe blossoms with ‘AMAZING’ art this weekend

Posted

A giant sunflower and an “AMAZING” piece of art will be added to downtown Tempe’s landscape this weekend during the spring Festival of the Arts.

Kyllan Maney will turn the Sixth Street roundabout east of Mill Avenue into a sunflower with the help of others, and JayArr Steiner is painting a mural on the north side of the ASU Bookstore building at Seventh Street and College Avenue.

His signature “YOU ARE AMAZING” lettering will pop off the wall in a 3D display.

Maney said sunflowers represent the beginning of spring and “are symbols of peace, optimism and happiness and reflective of our great Arizona sun.”

The landscaping in the center of the roundabout will become the eye of the sunflower, with petals surrounding it and the stem reaching toward Mill Avenue, according to a city release.

Visitors to downtown Tempe have seen Maney’s work at the corner of Seventh Street and Forest Avenue and the cactus flowers on the fence outside Tempe Mission Palms.

A limited number of volunteers may help paint the sunflower, the release stated.

About seven people per hour can take part Saturday and Sunday, April 1-2. Walk over to the installation and, if there is availability, artist helpers will be given paint, a brush and instructions. Participants must be age 15 or older.

Just outside the Tempe Festival of the Arts is Steiner’s 14-by-73-foot wall mural.

According to the artist, his will be the closest mural to the ASU campus. 

"This mural will be a place where students, prospective students and their parents will take selfies and get excited about being in Tempe and becoming part of this community," he said.

The "YOU ARE AMAZING" slogan and logo were developed in 2019 to promote “self-love and positivity through vibrant artwork,” Steiner said.

The Tempe resident has crafted several pieces around downtown Tempe including inside some businesses such as Daily Jam. 

 “Experiencing art inspires people to connect with their surroundings. I’m looking forward to seeing these murals come to life over Tempe Festival of the Arts weekend,” Kate Borders, president and CEO of Downtown Tempe Authority, said.

“These are only two of many creative projects that are underway for the downtown area.”

The work is part of an effort to refresh downtown Tempe with new art, lighting and landscaping and is a Tempe Adaptive Streets project.

Adaptive Streets “is the premise that rights-of-way can do more than moving people and vehicles from place to place. They can be used as parklets, covered with artistic shade structures, painted with murals and more,” the city release stated

 For more: Tempe’s Adaptive Streets program.