The Murphy City Council wants more options before kicking off a citywide public art program by installing two sculptures near the City Hall Pond.
“This is just another component of getting to community character and really setting ourselves apart where our identity as a community is concerned,” City Manager Aretha Adams said.
Reagan Rothenberger, director of community & economic development, said the large mural on the south wall of the Murphy Community Center was the city’s only public art until it is joined next spring by the bronze soldier monument for the Murphy Veterans Tribute in front of City Hall.
Rothenberger proposed two steel sculptures by Dale Rogers of Massachusetts, “Wise Owl” and “Sitting Dog.” He said city staff and the boards of the Murphy Community Development Corporation (MCDC) and Municipal Development District were enthusiastically in favor of the plan. The total estimated cost was $20,000, including installation.
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