It is the ambition of Menlo Park Public Art to develop, support, and maintain public art that serves the community. The mission includes educating the public about the importance of public art at its highest level, and to create artwork that deepens the human experience by inspiring the imagination and evoking emotion, as well as providing enjoyment to Menlo Park public spaces.
Public art can be expressed through a wide variety of means. It can be thought-provoking with meaningful and relevant themes. It can be whimsical, bold, or fragile. Art addresses societal challenges, connecting our shared present, past, and future. Art may be a single element or multiple objects; it is unlimited in its forms. Art can transform a city infrastructure in a multitude of inventive ways: artist-designed play equipment, street furniture, planter boxes, lighting, water features, landscape treatment, and bike stands, to name a few.
Integral to our goal is a desire to educate members of our community about the inspirational value of public art and to physically represent a clear reflection of Menlo Park as an active, international community that is at the crucible of technology, finance, and invention in the heart of Silicon Valley.