“Kaleidoscope of Dreams” by Canvas by Canvas (2015), created as part of the Star of Texas citywide art exhibition in Arlington, Texas; Levitt Pavilion Arlington/Founders Plaza (Image courtesy of the City of Arlington, TX)

This spring, 20 six-foot fiberglass stars will be brightening up Arlington, Texas, home to Levitt Pavilion Arlington, as part of the Star of Texas public art project. The stars—designed by local artist Chris Cunningham—each feature a different Texan artist’s depiction of the city’s new moniker, “the American Dream City.”

2015 Star of Texas Public Art Project; Arlington Museum of Art (Image courtesy of The Arlington Museum of Art)

These large, colorful stars made their public debut at the Arlington Museum of Art in November 2015 and have gradually been installed across the city during 2016—popping up in Arlington’s Cultural Arts District, Downtown area and Entertainment District. This exciting citywide art exhibition builds upon the momentum of the city’s larger-than-life interactive DREAM sculpture unveiled this past September.

“Arlington is more than sports teams and the GM plant,” said Seth Wade, spokesperson for the Arlington Museum of Art. “Arlington has culture, museums, music venues and the arts…These stars are one of many efforts to help revamp and revitalize downtown Arlington.” 

Free, live music returns to Levitt Pavilion Arlington on May 27 and thanks to the Star of Texas public art project, this year’s audiences will get to enjoy music under the stars as well as among them! Levitt Pavilion Arlington was selected to house the “Kaleidoscope of Dreams” star, created by Canvas by Canvas—an all-female collaborative group that has been creating art together for over 10 years. The colorful piece’s kaleidoscope-like appearance—created by reassembling fragments of an original Canvas by Canvas piece—speaks to the beauty of Arlington’s diverse communities coming together. As the group explains in the above video, “You look at the star and then you look at Arlington—there is the unity even though we are differentiated.”

The stars will remain on display, brightening up their new homes, for the next three years. To visit all 20 stars check out The Shorthorn’s interactive map of the sculptures.