Visitors take advantage of swings that are part of a temporary art install-ation at Wildflower Park in Boca Raton.
Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Mary Hladky
The city’s young public art program has taken a leap forward by showcasing its first major temporary art installation.
The Mi Casa, Your Casa 2.0 exhibit at Wildflower Park features three-dimensional red frames that connote homes with swings inside for visitors who want to relax and socialize, or simply to swing.
The exhibit, by Esrawe + Cadena, has been on display in other U.S. cities and Canada. It opened on Oct. 25 and runs through Dec. 5 at the park, at 551 E. Palmetto Park Road, and can be visited from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The city launched its public art program in 2023 at the urging of former Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke. It is now taking shape under the direction of coordinator Veronica Hatch.
Mi Casa, Your Casa 2.0 is a foray into getting a better idea of what kind of art should be featured in the city.
“We are trying to identify if this is something the people who live in the city are interested in,” Hatch said.
If they are, it would give people a reason to visit Wildflower and the adjoining Silver Palm Park, which opened in 2022 but have not attracted as many users as the city would like to the Intracoastal Waterway area.
Earlier this year, the city surveyed residents about public art and found that 46% of respondents said it was very important to them, and 36% said it was somewhat important.
Seventy-six percent preferred to see public art in the downtown, especially in parks and downtown gateways. The type of art the majority favored was landscape art such as fountains, planters and paths.
On Sept. 25, the city hosted a “community conversation” about public art that featured local art experts, including Boca Raton Museum of Art Executive Director Irvin Lippman. It also gave the public a chance to comment and contribute ideas.
Most encouraging to Hatch was that the meeting at the Downtown Library drew a “full house.”
“People were eager to know a public art program had been established,” she said. The city will soon post on its website the input from attendees.
The city is now working to establish guidelines for the public art program, which will be followed by drafting a public art ordinance and then a master plan.
That will allow the city to determine where art should go and to begin acquiring it. The city also is celebrating its 100th birthday in 2025 and public art will contribute to it.
Hatch plans to reimagine an old city entry sign dating to possibly the 1950s and giving it a lighted and contemporary look. It will be placed in downtown’s Sanborn Square early next year to help kick off the festivities.
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