Nov 8, 2023 - News

Two giant sunflower sculptures are coming to Dix Park

Zachery Eanes

Thomas Sayre's sunflowers. Rendering: Dix Park Conservancy

Thomas Sayre, the prominent Raleigh artist behind many of the city's most beloved public art installations, is bringing his work to Dorothea Dix Park.

Driving the news: Sayre, using private funding, will turn two power poles in the park into giant, steel sunflowers, the Dix Park Conservancy announced Wednesday.

The 73-ft. sunflowers — an homage to the park's sunflower fields — are near the entrance to the under-construction Gipson Play Park and will be built next year.

Context: Sayre has created some of the most recognizable public art in the city, including: the arches at the N.C. Museum of Art, the shimmer wall on the Greater Raleigh Convention Center and the canopy at Raleigh Union Station.

Details: The project will cost $2.5 million — a sum that the Dix Park Conservancy has already raised a significant portion of.

Sayre is creating the sunflowers in partnership with Duke Energy engineers so that the power lines remain accessible with the installation.

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Two giant sunflower sculptures are coming to Dix Park

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