the burrow
In early 2024, the City of Phoenix launched Sombra! A Celebration of Shade, commissioning nine temporary public art works from artists across Phoenix and the U.S. to help mitigate the rising effects of heat throughout the region. Artists were considered based on the unique concept design, ability to provide shade and shelter, approach to community engagement, and creative use of materials.
I approached this project with my longtime collaborator, Jenny Boehme. We pitched The Burrow, drawing inspiration from the desert tortoise, a species native to the Southwest and Sonoran desert region, known for its unique ability to adapt and thrive in extreme desert conditions. We’re thrilled to work alongside local fabricators, artists, and the Tohono O’odham Nation in Phoenix for this fun - and functional - public work.
lead artist, concept design, producer
ROLE
Lead artist in partnership with designer Jenny Boehme. Handled project from early concept development and pitch development through to sustainable and low-impact design and engineering, fabrication and installation. Managed all contract negotiations with the City of Phoenix, fabricators and vendors. Developed and executed community engagement strategies.
jenny boehme
the guild
the city of phoenix
CO-LEAD/DESIGN
FABRICATION
COMMISSIONED BY
¡sombra!
a celebration of shade
In October 2023, Bloomberg Philanthropies selected Phoenix as one of eight winners of its Public Art Challenge. The program supports temporary public art projects that address important civic issues in cities nationwide while showcasing the potential of artists to act as civic leaders.
Phoenix commissioned nine artists to create shade and cooling installations in response to extreme urban heat. Each installation provides communal cooling environments, promotes personal protection from the heat, or uses other creative tactics that advance Phoenix’s mission to become the leading heat-ready city.
Pieces will be installed throughout the city in spring 2025, with a reinstallation in the fall of 2025 at Steele Indian School Park for a free festival celebrating the community’s resilience to heat and the critical importance of shade in Phoenix. Artists were selected from across the U.S. by a diverse panel of specialists from the City of Phoenix’s Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, the Office of Innovation, the Arts & Culture Department, and nationally recognized artists and design professionals.
THE CONCEPT
What better way to stay cool in the summer heat than by mimicking the behavior of Arizona’s very own Desert Tortoise?
From the coloring of its shell to the ability to retain water for months at a time, this iconic yet threatened species of the Southwest is uniquely adapted to the desert heat. By digging burrows into the earth to stay cool, it creates much needed shelter for other species including mammals, reptiles, birds and invertebrates.
Drawing inspiration from the desert ecosystem, The Burrow imagines the Desert Tortoise as a visually interactive experience and welcome reprieve from the summer heat for the residents of Phoenix; sharing the shade while encouraging people of all ages and abilities to “think outside the shell” when it comes to climate adaptation and community-based, heat-ready solutions.
community engagement
Working with neighborhood schools, botanical gardens and the O’odham Nation.
In addition to the installation, we are asked to design a community engagement strategy that allows residents and civic leaders to participate with the work, and learn, adapt and protect themselves from Phoenix’s extreme heat.
The Burrow will be installed just before Easter in 2025 in Roesley Park on the South Side of Phoenix. We are looking to engage neighborhood elementary schools in the design and fabrication of barrel cactus seating to accompany the main tortoise shade structure.
Interior placards will provide tips on how to “share the shade” within your home and community, illustrating the ecological and cultural significance of the desert tortoise and what this native species can teach us about climate adaptation - available in Spanish, English and the Native O’odham language.
materials and design
With an overarching focus on climate and heat-resiliency, Jenny and I are working to keep our materials as environmentally sustainable and low-impact as possible. After exploring a range of materials and considering the severe weather conditions and temporary nature of the project, we eliminated the use of fabrics and plastics, moving forward with a base steel frame and wood panels for the tortoise “scutes.”
We will look to junkyard tires and upcycled fabrics to create DIY barrel cactus seating as part of our community engagement strategy with local elementary schools. We will work with the city and fellow ¡Sombra! artists to identify avenues for upcycling materials back into the community once the installation is complete.
initial renderings
