Phillips Neighborhood Gateway, (sculpture).

Phillips Neighborhood Gateway, (sculpture).

Green, Rafala, sculptor.

Phillips Neighborhood Gateway, (sculpture).

1992-2000. Designed Aug. 1992. Dedicated Oct. 1995.

Concrete benches, ceramic tile.

5 benches. Each bench 20 tons.

A circular plaza surrounded by mosaic-tiled concrete benches, and mosaic pathways leading though archways. The five mosaic-tiled benches represent the community's cultural groups.

Outdoor Sculpture -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis

Peavey Park, Intersection of Franklin & Chicago, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Phillips Neighborhood Gateway is one of several gateway projects located across Minneapolis. The Phillips gateway, which is installed on the former site of a liquor store, was initiated to signify neighborhood renewal. In Aug. 1992, the artist submitted her design, which would involve teenagers from the community's five cultural groups (Native American, European, Asian American, African American, and Latin American) in tiling the five concrete benches. The project was initially funded with $30,000 from the Minneapolis Arts Commission (MAC), but eventually it required more than $500,000, which was paid for with public money and funds from private corporations. The approximate timetable was initially thought to be six months, depending on the availability of neighborhood teenagers. Work began in the spring of 1993, when the artist started working with neighborhood kids to design the mosaic tiles. The project eventually took much longer than expected, and involved additional community volunteers as well as students from the Four Winds School, which is located on the southeast corner of Peavey Park. The dedication took place in 1995, although work on the project continued until 2000.

Inventory staff, 2002.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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