Later this month, Mecosta, Mich., artist Robert Barnum will be installing his “Rhythm of Knoxville” metal hanging on Gay Street, above the pedestrian walkway that connects with the State Street Garage.

The $10,000 piece of artwork is the latest in a series of public art recently installed throughout downtown Knoxville. It was commissioned by the City-funded Public Arts Committee.



Barnum has installed large public art pieces in seven states. His weather-resistant metal hanging would adorn a 12-by-7-foot overhead rectangular slab of white concrete, framed by red brick, on a wall separating Gay Street’s eastern sidewalk and the pedestrian walkway to the garage.

The Public Arts Committee evaluated 15 submissions from artists and selected Barnum as the most qualified artist for the Gay Street public art project.

Earlier this summer, a $15,700 project painted and transformed a concrete staircase south of Cumberland Avenue at 11th Street. Jessie Unterhalter and Katey Truhn, a Baltimore-based team, have been creating large-scale public murals since 2011. Their 11th Street Stairs project pays tribute to the craft revival movement that took hold throughout Knoxville and most of Appalachia from the 1890s through 1945.

For details about these and other public art projects, visit the Public Arts Committee’s webpage at https://knoxvillepublicart.com/news or call Liza Zenni at 865-523-7543.