Public Art
Click the image above to view the Apex Public Art Guide (pdf).
Apex Sculpture Walk
Sculptures are installed in and around downtown Apex in the spring of each year for an annual Sculpture Walk! The walk typically begins in Hunter Street Park and ends near the Hwy 55 intersection on Salem Street.
Art in Apex
| Blackbird Circle by Sally Myers Located at the John M. Brown Community Center parking lot, 53 Hunter Street 2022 Apex Sculpture Walk People's Choice Award Winner Blackbird Circle is a joyful celebration. The large uneven circle has decorative spirals, blackbirds landing, and swallows flying. Warm copper flowers grow into the circle. The circle represents the circle of life and the copper poppies remind us of those who have passed. The sculpture challenges you to observe how the sculpture represents the true gestures of the birds by showing black birds landing for just a moment, while the swallows fly in and out. | |
| The Community Laughing Garden Mural by Loren Pease Located at the Apex Police Department, 205 Saunders Street The Community Laughing Garden Mural was created through a collaboration the artist, Apex students, Apex Police Department, Town representatives, and the Apex Public Art Committee. The idea for the mural originated with a group of students who wanted to create a mural in support of the social justice movement. | |
Destination Becomes Home by Max Dowdle Destination Becomes Home highlights feelings of home with bold, eye-catching colors that are inspired by the special aspects of Apex. From people, to history, to flora and fauna of nature, and topography itself, Apex has a unique kind of small town allure of its very own. The mural brings home the point that wherever you put down roots becomes a part of you. With dynamic imagery, vivid colors and a calming overall aesthetic, the emotions one experiences reflect when a destination becomes home. | |
Inky by Phil Hathcock Phil Hathcock’s inspiration for this sculpture stemmed from the desire to honor the Inuit people. Inky is his rendition of an inukshuk. Inukshuks were used by the Inuit people as a cairn for directional uses and to mark hunting and fishing grounds. Inukshuk was the symbol for the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver. This rendition of an inukshuk was created out of colored stones. | |
Jäger by TJ Christiansen Durham-based TJ Christiansen's Jäger; meaning “hunter” in German, is a fitting name for the large grizzly bear made of steel. The sculpture brings attention to a species that once roamed freely across North America. With the human transformation and industrialization of North America, the grizzly faces extinction in much of its former range. Grizzly bears represent a keystone predator, having a major influence on the entire ecosystem they inhabit. | |
Trajectory by Dan Kuehl Trajectory is made of beams of steel rising toward each other, connecting at the top. As the taller beams meet with the shorter ones, they create angles. The angles follow a spiraling arch trajectory. The open space inside the angles is faced with mirrors, reflecting some space outside, but mostly the space inside. The path through the sculpture becomes an intertwined comingling of lines. Trajectory is about interconnectivity and progression along a curvilinear route. | |
Uphill Battle by Ethan Morrow Uphill Battle was created in collaboration with Hattiesburg Alliance for Public Art and DREAM of Hattiesburg, MS, a teen substance abuse prevention non-profit. The Hattie Hundred is an annual bike race fundraiser for DREAM of Hattiesburg; Uphill Battle was displayed along the route from April 2018 – July 2019. The sculpture depicts a wildly ambitious biker, leading a pack of competitors, to conquer a gnarly, nearly vertical hill. The character’s ambition is synonymous with those impacted by the DREAM of Hattiesburg Program. |
Downtown Art Walk
The Downtown Art Walk is an organized tour of public and private art installations ranging from sculptures to murals! Stop in restaurant and shops along the way to enjoy all that downtown Apex has to offer.