Scottsdale AZ Announces 1st Pocket Park

Since January of 2009, the Boulder, Colorado-based artist Michael Beitz has designed pieces in diverse media for display in international exhibitions of all sizes. In April of 2021, KJZZ, a local public radio station, announced the construction of a pocket park, designed by Michael Beitz. The pocket park, the first of its kind in the area, will ideally perform several functions.

Scottsdale Public Art public art manager Kevin Vaughan-Brubaker discussed the rationale behind the park’s construction during the interview announcing the project. Vaughan-Brubaker cited Scottsdale’s World War II origins, and the heightened importance of the automobile at the time, as leading to a neglect for the pedestrian experience. Due to the public’s interest in environmentally-friendly ways to commute to work, and the COVID-19 pandemic compelling workers to focus on their local communities, Vaughan-Brubaker wants the pocket park to liven the community in a way only experienced on foot.

During the same interview, Beitz elaborated on how his training as a sculptor and furniture designer informs how he will design the park, his first project on this scale. He plans to visit the location, to learn how people use the preexisting space. Then, using those observations, he will determine what features to include, and where to place them, to best serve the park’s users. As stated repeatedly during the interview, he wants the park to offer a reprieve from the urban environment around it and, whether a resident merely walks through it on their commute or stops there, that it makes them “feel good”.

How NYFA Helps Artists through Grants

Michael Beitz is an artist with a focus on sculpture and furniture design. Over the course of his artistic career, Michael Beitz has been a beneficiary of a few grants, including the New York Foundation for the Arts grant.

The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an organization that offers support, resources, and professional development tools to artists, art administrators, and emerging art organizations. The organization does this through its awards and grants, providing more than three million dollars every year to people in pursuit of artistic excellence.

One of the NYFA’s recently created grants is the City Artist Corp Grant. The grant is a part of the City Artist Corps, a 25 million dollar outlet meant to help artists impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The NYFA partnered with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs on this project. The City Artist Corp Grant will distribute $5,000 grants to more than 3,000 artists. The grant is open to artists who have been living in New York City since at least January 2021, among other conditions.

The Design Museum’s Home Futures

Michael Beitz is a sculptural artist that creates functional, artistic furniture pieces. In 2018, Michael Beitz was involved in Home Futures, an exhibition by the Design Museum.

The Design Museum exhibits graphic, industrial, architectural, and product design. It was founded in 1989 by Sir Terrence Conan and Stephen Bailey. The museum was first located in a rebuilt warehouse south of the River Thames. Today, the museum is located in Kensington, London. The Design Museum building houses a restaurant, an architecture reference library, \ a residency studio, a members lounge, among other facilities. The museum also organizes a number of exhibitions regularly.

Home Futures is an exhibition organized by the Design Museum in conjunction with IKEA Museum Almhult. The exhibition's concept is based on the future of domestic furniture design, as the name implies. The exhibition presents works on artists to specialize in creating sculptural furniture and architects. It seeks to compare the idea of today’s domestic furniture to past trends and possible future trends.