Art at the Park
Dix Park is a vibrant hub for creativity—a place where art challenges us to see both the world and the park through a new lens. The Master Plan envisioned arts and culture as a vital part of the park’s future, and that vision is coming to life. From striking public art installations to immersive artist residencies and innovative collaborations, we’re shaping a cultural destination that celebrates the spirit of Dix Park and the diverse community that makes it thrive.
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Get Well Soon
Lamar Whidbee
“With one foot in the mental health realm and another in the art world, I wanted to create something that speaks to the unique mental health conditions that many face and the results of having said conditions,” said Whidbee. “With this piece, I wanted to acknowledge the history of Dix Hospital and mental health patients past and present, while encouraging greater compassion and fearlessness — often exhibited by the children around us — as we engage and improve mental health care today.”
Commissioned by DPC in coordination and partnership with the City of Raleigh, the Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh and several local businesses.
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Sunflower Power Poles
Thomas Sayre
This installation turns everyday infrastructure into something extraordinary. Rising 73 feet into the sky, the poles are crowned with massive stainless steel petals, each one punctuated by an array of holes. These perforations aren’t just decorative—they mirror the natural process of decay found in real sunflower leaves, where insects and time leave their mark. As sunlight filters through, the petals appear delicate, almost weightless, despite their monumental scale. In this way, the installation captures both the beauty and impermanence of nature, grounding a soaring vision in the cycles of life that unfold at Dix Park every day.
Designed in partnership with Duke Energy and Thomas Sayre, a local sculptor and painter known for public art projects and commissions in Raleigh and around the world.
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Attun
Dewitt Godfrey
Attun masterfully integrates site-specific response and abstract geometry, nestled within the topography of Dix Park. This sculpture embodies an interdisciplinary approach, blending natural mathematics and computational design with community context. By inviting viewers to explore and reflect, Attun transforms familiar landscapes into spaces of wonder and inquiry, encouraging a deep connection with the environment and its history.
Made possible by generous gifts to the Dix Park Conservancy Eileen and Mike Hendren, Marjorie Hodges and Carlton Midyette, Katerina and Clifton Minsley, Susan and Randall Ward, Catherine and Mason Williams.
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Meadow of the Deer
Mark Reigelman II
In Meadow of the Deer, this family of oversized steel silhouettes casually roam the grounds, paying homage to the park’s historic natural elegance while highlighting its history of healing. Derived from Old English, the word Raleigh loosely translates to mean “meadow of the deer.” Quite fittingly, the stoic profile of a stag wanders the City’s oldest double-sided flag.
Inspired by the archived drawings of the former mental health hospital’s patients, which often focused on radial and repetitive gestures as a means of calming the mind, Meadow of the Deer’s radiating sculptural linework consists of layers of steel radiating in an x-formation from the center outward. This stratified approach allows for a unique level of transparency and environmental integration.
City of Raleigh Municipal Collection. Made possible by the Percent for Art Program and generous gifts to the Dix Park Conservancy.
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Another Day in the Life
Johnny Lee Chapman, III
Another Day in the Life combines literature and fabrication with an original poem by Johnny Lee Chapman, III. Highlighting the natural landscape and history of Dix Park, the individual stanzas evoke a sense of motivation, tranquility, wisdom and curiosity. The poem is presented in two parts and through fabrication it is rooted deeper in the park still. Displayed on the House of Many Porches, the entire piece is engraved on pecan wood slabs reclaimed from trees felled at Dix Park. Its verses are also laser cut into 16 steel sculptures in the shape of oak, poplar and maple leaves found throughout the surrounding garden.
City of Raleigh Municipal Collection. Made possible by the Percent for Art Program and generous gifts to the Dix Park Conservancy.
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Public Art for Pollinators + People
Courtney Evans (Tactile Workshop) in collaboration with Leigh-Kathryn Bonner (Bee Downtown)
Bridging art and sustainability by supporting a stronger ecosystem for people and pollinators. The Pollinator Hotel is a trio of steel sculptures provide habitat for native North Carolina bees, moths and butterflies. With cut-out designs like that of insect wings and holographic paint that ignites in direct sunlight to mimic the way bees see color. The sculpture houses a variety of sizes of cardboard tubing to provide nesting environments within the sculpture.
The Apiary represents functioning art within our agricultural world while acting as an agritourism site within Dix Park. The gazebo shaped steel structure with cut-out designs like that of insect wings is glazed in a holographic paint that reflects direct sunlight to mimic the way bees see color. Three wooden beehives house colonies of urban bees maintained by Bee Downtown.
Commissioned by CAM Raleigh BEAS and made possible by the Jandy Ammons Foundation.