Issue link: http://townofcary.uberflip.com/i/791946
CHAPTER 5:ENGAGE CARY PUBLIC ART OPPORTUNITIES Great ci es are remembered for interes ng streets, lively gathering places, surprising discoveries, and pleasant strolls – physical and social environments where public art can meaningfully connect people with place. Through metaphors, illusions, story-telling, and cultural messages, public art creates new and exci ng experiences that build upon other urban design strategies. Public art thrives in public spaces that are centers of human ac vity and are designed as des na on places. Over the past few decades, rapid development has transformed Cary and the surrounding landscape into a suburban community with mul ple commercial centers and residen al neighborhoods. Public art operates within this rapidly changing context to: • Cultivate Cary's emerging community identity/identities • Show that Cary's public facilities, including its parks and greenways, are part of a larger system that supports com- munity and culture • Ensure that larger-scale, mixed-use development in Cary is part of the town-wide public realm • Advance the goal of making the Town Center a unique, vibrant, dynamic, pedestrian-friendly location • Continue to place a public art emphasis in the downtown core along Academy Street The following photographs illustrate how public art in Cary lends dis nct character to places and is an important component of crea ve placemaking within Cary's developments. 74