Santa Maria continuing to add public artwork, now planning to transform downtown pedestrian bridge

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – An ongoing effort to increase public artwork by the City of Santa Maria is continuing through a recent call to artists to help transform a highly visible pedestrian bridge in the downtown area.

The city is seeking artists who will help re-image the bridge, which connects the Santa Maria Town Center mall and Santa Maria Town Center West shopping center.

The bridge, which sits over Broadway and is passed by hundreds of cars each day and has been closed to pedestrian traffic for several years, is currently painted a plain beige color.

"While the pedestrian overpass serves as a functional bridge between two bustling centers of activity, we envision it as so much more — a canvas for artistic expression that reflects the community," Recreation Services Manager Dennis Smitherman said.

The Santa Maria's Recreation and Parks Department said it is looking for artists who will create a display that will capture the essence of Santa Maria's rich culture and downtown spirit.

Proposals are needed by May 31. Artist proposal will be reviewed by a panel of representatives from the City of Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department, as well as community stakeholders.

Artists who are selected will be eligible to receive a paid stipend to further develop their design concept.

The pedestrian overpass project will be the latest addition to the city's increasing catalog of public artwork.

Since adopting its Master Art Plan in 2019, Santa Maria has increased the amount of artwork in public spaces throughout at the city.

"The City of Santa Maria has adopted a Master Arts Plan, which really is a tool or a guidance for Recreation and Parks staff to move forward in creating more pubic art throughout the city," said Smitherman. "The overall goal of the Master Arts Plan is to identify public art spaces and create more public art using our local artists to really develop a culture here in Santa Maria and art being a way to unify a community, this is a great way to move forward."

For more information about the pedestrian overpass project, click here for the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks website.