Note: Authored by David Menconi, this piece has been produced in partnership with Raleigh Arts. Menconi's latest book, "Oh, Didn't They Ramble: Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music," was published in the fall of 2023 by University of North Carolina Press. His podcast, Carolina Calling, explores the history of the Tar Heel State through music.

Plans to transform downtown Raleigh’s Dorothea Dix Park into a world-class tourist destination are continuing apace—and public art will be one of its major attractions.

The park unveiled its first major new work of art this summer. Titled “Attun,” it stands 18 feet tall and spans about 150 feet in length near Dix Park’s Western Blvd. entrance at Boylan Ave.

Consisting of a series of large, interconnected steel cylinders, “Attun” is the work of DeWitt Godfrey, a New York-based experimental sculptor who is known for large-scale projects. Godfrey worked with Saint Augustine’s University art professor Linda Dallas on installation of the piece, enlisting her students to help erect it. “Attun” came to Dix after spending a decade in its previous location, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Mass.

“People do climb on it even though it’s not encouraged,” City of Raleigh public art director Kelly McChesney says of “Attun.” “I had seen this piece and other works of his in the past, all these steel tubes. But it’s so much more impressive in-person where you can see how big and interactive it is with people walking through it or sitting in various tubes. It’s a beautiful piece that people enjoy being a part of. I love how participatory it is.”

The first installation as part of a newly announced, privately funded arts initiative driven by the Dix Park Conservancy, “Attun” stands not far from Dix Park’s Stone Houses, a trio of century-old structures that recently underwent significant renovations and will now serve as the new visitor center for the 308-acre park.

And while “Attun” should remain the most attention-getting piece of artwork on the Dix grounds for the foreseeable future, it will have plenty of company emerging over the next few years.

Among the other arts attractions in the works for Dix are visual representations of poetry written by reigning North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green and performance poet Johnny Lee Chapman III; a large, three-dimensional portrait of the daughter of art therapist Lamar Whidbee, who will install the work on a wall of the Spruill Building right next to the Greg Poole, Jr., All Faiths Chapel in 2025; and sculpture pieces by Mark Riegelman, whose steel deer figures will be on display in the 18.5-acre Gipson Play Plaza when the state-of-the-art playground opens early next year.

“When Mark came to do engagement research on Raleigh and take some tours, he was fascinated by the fact that ‘Raleigh’ means ‘meadow of deer,’” says McChesney. “He drew more than 20 concepts for everyone to review, and the deer was by far everyone’s favorite—and also within budget!”

[Upcoming events at Dix Park: Movie on the Lawn: Cars, Aug. 3; Kirby Derby, Aug. 17; yoga, guided tours, bird watching and more on the full calendar here.]

Also in progress are a pair of troll sculptures (one large and one small) by the noted Danish artist Thomas Dambo, who makes his pieces using recycled materials. Dambo has troll sculptures on display in four different continents, as far away as Asia and Australia. His Dix Park trolls are tentatively scheduled to appear in October of 2025.

“His big sculptures can be larger than life, big enough to crawl on—40 feet tall,” McChesney says of Dambo. “And the smaller ones are still larger than human scale, just not climbable. The really exciting thing about his sculptures is they’re mapped worldwide, and people tour all over to find them. Having some of them here should bring a lot of visitors to Raleigh and the park for the first time.”

 

 

 

 

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Art projects already existing or in progress at the park include the Sunflower Power Poles, a creative infrastructure collaboration between North Carolina artist Thomas Sayre and Duke Energy, and murals by Christopher Holt and Spclsigns. Previous art installations included Jorge Marín’s traveling exhibition, Wings of the City in 2021 and 2022, and Light the Woods with Sound in 2018.

“We envision Dix Park Arts as diverse, imaginative, enlightening and collaborative,” says Marjorie Hodges, chair of the Dix Park Conservancy Art Task Force. “We whole-heartedly support the City of Raleigh’s effort to leverage the power of art and we are already partnering with other organizations in our region’s robust arts ecosystem.”

Eventually, Dix Park also plans to have artist-in-residence programs for local as well as national artists. As the park takes shape, the hope is that other art projects will arise that are privately as well as publicly funded.

“The cities that have the best public art are the ones not solely funded by just the city, because that will only get you so far,” says McChesney. “It’s also important to have private donations from organizations willing to put public art in their communities. They may have different processes, with not as much community engagement. But it’s important to have them contribute, too. It gives artists more freedom to create. Both types are important for public art in our city.”