Boasting 150 individual pieces, Fountain Hills is home to the largest public art collection in the state of Arizona.

Over the years, more and more pieces have been added to that collection, be they flat art on display at the Community Center and Town Hall or 3D pieces on display around Centennial Circle, along the Avenue of the Fountain or circling Fountain Park.

With a couple of additions currently up for consideration and fundraising, however, the process of acquisition and placement will likely have to change moving forward.

Rachael Goodwin, Director of Community Services for Fountain Hills, said that the community is proud of its public art collection, the result of a partnership between the town, the Cultural and Civic Association, and many community members who have dedicated their time and resources to bringing the impressive collection to Fountain Hills.

“At one point there was a vision to have art around Centennial Circle, along the Avenue and all, but that vision has been completed,” Goodwin said. “We’ve achieved, if not exceeded, those original goals.”

When planning for public art first kicked off, key locations were selected and the process of art acquisition was spearheaded by the Cultural and Civic Association. In short, those locations have been filled at this point. But that doesn’t mean that public art is grinding to a halt, according to Goodwin. Instead, the process now must be about figuring out how art and new sites will be selected moving forward.

“As we move forward,” Goodwin said, “how do we make sure we’re acquiring pieces that are intentional and how do we make sure we have the space for them when we get them?

“We want to make sure we’re not getting things we can’t accommodate.”

Goodwin said that, at this point in the process, they are simply taking a “forward look” at the future of art acquisition practices in the community.

“Fountain Hills loves its public art,” Goodwin said. “We’ve done a tremendous job developing it and supporting it. We have a number of volunteers who maintain it throughout the year. We want to make sure we’re continuing that level of success moving forward.”

Goodwin said she recently met with members of the Public Art Committee to look at the road ahead and start formulating ideas for the future.

“We don’t want to find ourselves in the position where we have some great art but nowhere to put it,” she continued. “So we’re now looking at how public art will be selected and, when it’s selected, where we can actually put it.”

Goodwin said the discussions are in the early stages and several ideas, such as a possible rotation of new art, are being kicked around.

“I don’t know if that’s the way anyone wants to go, but we’re discussing everything right now,” she continued. “We’d rather all of the art be accessible at all times.”

Goodwin said that one of the concerns when it comes to placement is crowding. She said they want pieces to be able to shine individually, which is why placement consideration is key in the ongoing discussion.

“The Public Art Committee seems on board with these considerations,” Goodwin continued. “The next step is hopefully working to pre-establish future locations. The idea there is that, when they go to acquire future pieces, they can consider scale, location, consistency and things like that.

“We’ve surpassed the original plan, so it makes sense to regroup and see where we stand now.”

Goodwin said that a proposal is expected to be presented to the town council, though she doubts the work will be done before the upcoming summer break.

For those concerned about budgeting, Fountain Hills’ public art collection is the result of donations and fundraising efforts, not town funds. The town’s obligation includes upkeep.

When asked if additional art would affect the town’s insurance commitment, Goodwin said that new art only requires a nominal adjustment.

“Other than insurance, we only take on maintenance and vandalism issues,” Goodwin added. “We have an annual contract for cleaning the art professionally and a local group of volunteers who go out on the weekends to help maintain pieces.”