The event will begin at the northeast corner of Lancaster Avenue and Throckmorton Street, where light refreshments will be served and The Usual Suspects will provide musical entertainment. The actual program will begin at 9:00 p.m. with remarks from Mayor Mike Moncrief, Mayor Pro Tem Kathleen Hicks, Council Member Joel Burns and the Artist Cliff Garten. The sculptures will then become a “canvas” for a color light program lasting about 30 minutes and created especially for the occasion. Lancaster Avenue will be closed to traffic 8-10 PM from Throckmorton to Houston streets. Parking is available two blocks north at the new Fort Worth Convention Center Parking Garage.

The City of Fort Worth ’s public art program commissioned Avenue of Light as part of Lancaster Avenue ’s reconstruction. The sculptures’ contemporary design was inspired by the nearby Texas & Pacific Terminal’s Art Deco architectural details. Lancaster Avenue’s reconstruction is a catalyst for future economic development along the corridor. Median landscaping will be part of a future phase of the project.

Avenue of Light will be illuminated nightly from dusk to dawn beginning June 26.

To view the first installation, please click here.

About the Artist

Cliff Garten is the recipient of two Individual Artist Fellowships form the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bush Foundation Fellowship for Individual Artists, the Bush Foundation Leadership Fellowship and the Jerome Foundation Travelling Artist Grant. The American Society of Landscape Architects has cited many of this works for design excellence. Garten has a Masters of Fine Arts from Rhode Island School of Design and a Masters of Landscape Architecture from Harvard University’s GSD. He has served as a visiting critic at Harvard, as well as UCLA School of Architecture and the Southern California Institute of Architecture. Cliff Garten Studio has completed a number of public art projects the United States. For more information about Cliff Garten Studio, please click here.

What: Avenue of Light Grand Lighting Ceremony

Where: Lancaster and Throckmorton Street in downtown Fort Worth

When: Thursday, June 25, 2009, from 8:30 to 10:00 PM

How Much: FREE and open to the public