By Caitlin Thropay
As temperatures start heating up this week, a new art installation is hoping to remind people to stay cool.
News Channel 3’s Caitlin Thropay reports to us the on new popsicles art installation in a Palm Springs neighborhood.
“We just heard about them and they’re fantastic! They’re so much fun! I love this!” Steve Oppenheimer, a Palm Springs resident shared his thoughts on the new popsicle art installment in Palm Springs.
The ‘cool’ new art attraction can be found on Sunny Dunes road across the street from Townie Bagels.
“John Cerney who is the artist came down from Salinas. He started working at 7 o’clock in the morning on Friday and by 6 p.m. it was completely installed,” Palm Springs Public Arts commissioner, Russell Pritchard stated.
The five colorful popsicles are a part of the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission’s Neighborhood Grant Program.
“Our goal is to get art in every neighborhood in town and Sunny Dunes, in particular, is a street I’ve been wanting to do for the last year to help support the merchants who are here and make it look more lively,” Pritchard said.
“I’ve lived in Palm Springs for 20 years and to see how the city has changed and embracing artwork in our local community; I just think it gives a really good sense of us as a community,” Oppenheimer said.
The Palm Springs Public Arts Commission also uses its grant programs to help out local artists struggling from the pandemic.
“We have put money in the pockets of approximately 65 local artists in this past year,” Pritchard said.
The grants are between $500 and $5,000.
“For the artist, it’s stimulus money right in their pockets,” he said.
The money comes from the City of Palm Springs Public Arts Fund. Pritchard said he’s always looking for more artists to help liven up neighborhoods like this one.
“There’s more to come and if you’re a neighborhood in town and you see a building that needs some help reach out to us because we’ll hook you up with an artist we’ll do the grant program with any neighborhood in town,” he said.
You can learn more about the grant program here: https://pspublicarts.com/
The popsicle art will stay up until December 2021.
