{"id":518625,"date":"2026-03-12T07:09:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T07:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/518625\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T07:09:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T07:09:10","slug":"oklahoma-city-unveils-new-cloud-embrace-sculpture-in-bricktown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/518625\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma City unveils new ‘Cloud Embrace’ sculpture in Bricktown"},"content":{"rendered":"

OKLAHOMA CITY –<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City leaders and community partners gathered Wednesday morning to celebrate the installation of a new public art landmark in Bricktown.<\/p>\n

The sculpture, called Cloud Embrace, was unveiled during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at United Way Plaza in the Bricktown Entertainment District.<\/p>\n

The large steel sculpture, designed and fabricated by Creative Machines, stands about 24 feet tall, 40 feet wide, and 9 feet deep. The piece was commissioned and funded by Visit Oklahoma City and Inasmuch Foundation and gifted to the City of Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n

City officials say the sculpture is designed to be both interactive and visually striking, allowing visitors to stand inside the structure for photos.<\/p>\n

Mayor David Holt said the piece strengthens the city\u2019s growing public art presence.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is a great new addition to our city\u2019s public art profile,\u201d Holt said. \u201cIt\u2019s very large. It\u2019s very iconic. It says OKC right in the middle of it. It\u2019s going to be a real statement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holt said the sculpture is expected to become a popular backdrop for visitors and residents.<\/p>\n

The mayor also highlighted the collaboration that made the project possible, noting partnerships between the city, local developers, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, Visit OKC and the Inasmuch Foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s often what it takes in Oklahoma City to get things done is great collaboration,\u201d Holt said. \u201cWorking together, we\u2019ve got a great new landmark here in Bricktown.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sculpture replaces a former fountain that previously stood in the plaza.<\/p>\n

Holt said public art has become a priority for the city, in part through its \u201c1% for art\u201d ordinance, which dedicates a portion of public project funding to artistic elements.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you looked at where public art was in Oklahoma City 20 years ago, so many things that you now take for granted didn\u2019t exist,\u201d Holt said. \u201cWe continue to add pieces every year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sculpture was created by a small team led by Joseph O\u2019Connell, president and artistic director of Creative Machines.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connell said the design began as a simple sketch meant to resemble a cartoon cloud.<\/p>\n

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The project took several months to complete as designers developed digital models, completed structural engineering and fabricated the steel structure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took a team of probably about five of us and several months to weld it together,\u201d O\u2019Connell said.<\/p>\n

The sculpture also incorporates skylight openings fitted with dichroic acrylic panels that reflect and refract sunlight to create changing colors throughout the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost like a kinetic sculpture and a light show without moving parts or electronics during the day,\u201d O\u2019Connell said.<\/p>\n

The piece is designed to be engaging from a distance, up close and from inside the structure itself.<\/p>\n

Holt also noted the installation comes at a busy time for the city as it prepares to host major sporting events, including the upcoming NCAA Division I Men\u2019s Basketball Tournament.<\/p>\n

City leaders hope the sculpture will become a recognizable gathering place and photo spot in Bricktown for years to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City leaders and community partners gathered Wednesday morning to celebrate the installation of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,229,88],"class_list":["post-518625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}