ART IN THE PARK
Art in the Park at Hogan Park at Highlands Creek
We invite you to explore the region’s newest Art Walk experience. Throughout the 2-mile length of Hogan Park at Highlands Creek, more than 20 installations have been thoughtfully curated and will be installed over the next several years to be a part of a permanent collection that is available to the public to view. Art in the Park encourages creativity, sustainability, positivity, community and hopes to inspire future generations.
Click here to download a PDF map of the Art in the Park.
Art in the Park is on our app! Download at the Apple App Store or Google Play Store today!
DANIEL POPPER
South African born Daniel Popper is a multidisciplinary artist who has become known worldwide for his awe-inspiring and thought-provoking sculptures. His large-scale, figurative works explore the connection between humans and nature and have been exhibited in numerous public and private spaces across the globe.
Daniel’s art installation in The Aurora Highlands is “Umi.”
If you would like to visit Umi, here’s a link to her location on Google Maps.
UMI
Umi is an extraordinary embodiment of the interconnectedness between humanity and the natural world, inspired by the profound concept of Gaia as envisioned by environmental scientist John Lovelock. In his holistic understanding of the Earth as a self-regulating organism, Lovelock introduced Gaia, the primordial mother and ancestral goddess who shaped and nurtured all life. Umi, meaning ‘ocean’ in Japanese, merges the essence of woman and tree, intertwining these metaphors of Gaia to create a captivating, sculpted form.
This installation represents a harmonious blend of art and nature, a testament to the enduring bond that unites us with our environment. As Umi stands tall, she invites viewers to contemplate their connection to the Earth, encouraging a profound sense of wonder and a renewed commitment to safeguarding our planet’s future.
May Umi serve as a symbol of unity, inspiration, and reverence for the magnificence of Mother Earth, reminding us of our role as custodians of this wondrous living organism. In the spirit of Gaia, Umi embraces us all and calls upon us to cherish and protect the delicate balance of life that sustains us.
MICHAEL BENISTY
Michael Benisty is a sculptor and digital artist renowned for his large-scale sculptures showcased in otherworldly places like Burning Man and beyond. Starting his artistic journey with a dream of making a global impact, Michael has seen his creations evolve into inspiring community spaces that foster connection and imagination. His mission as an artist is to push boundaries and spread positivity through his transformative work.
“Broken but Together” is a 25-foot-tall sculpture crafted from mirrored polished steel, depicting two figures in an embrace. This magnificent piece embodies unity and healing, towers over the park, reflecting light and its surroundings to symbolize the interconnectedness of the community.
If you would like to visit Broken But Together, here’s a link to the location on Google Maps.
BROKEN BUT TOGETHER
LIBERTY
Michael Benisty’s next installation in The Aurora Highlands is “Liberty”. This 58-foot-tall sculpture will be installed in May 2025. Originally unveiled at the Burning Man festival in 2024, “Liberty” is Benisty’s contemporary take on New York’s iconic Statue of Liberty. It will find a permanent home in Aurora, standing as a towering symbol of unity, courage and hope.
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” ~ Emma Lazarus
Benisty wrote a companion poem, also titled “Liberty,” which will be displayed alongside the sculpture to help visitors connect with its meaning and message.
“Liberty”
In the whisper of the dawn freedom sings.
A gentle breeze that stirs the heart’s deep strings.
Mountains rise, their peaks kissed by the light casting shadows that dance bold and bright.
Chains of silence shatter, dreams take flight, voices united igniting the night.
For every soul that yearns each heart that cries, Liberty blooms beneath vast open skies.
With courage as our banner, hand in hand we’ll weave a tapestry of a hopeful land.
In every step, in every truth we share Liberty, our promise, forever rare.
By Michael Benisty
I have a passion for creating art that not only spreads positivity but also becomes a community gathering space. When approached to contribute to The Aurora Highlands’ art park, I was thrilled to create a piece that can be seen from far and wide and depicts a message of togetherness, bringing people from all walks of life to appreciate the beauty of art.
SNYDER & OLIVIA STEELE
A Berlin-based artist who is known under the pseudonym SNYDER uses his background in architecture and a passion for style writing to create unique works of art that blend majestic harmony with iridescent power. His art often depicts endangered animal species, rendered with soulful depth on various media using a spray can. Incorporating chromatic aberrations and blue hues, SNYDER challenges modern visual perception, urging viewers to look beyond digital screens and reconnect with the natural world. His urban-adapted animal motifs captivate and draw in passers-by, encouraging a return to instinctive perceptual behavior.
Olivia Steele is a contemporary artist who has earned an international reputation for her spirited public designs at festivals like Burning Man. Her statements suspend time and motion. The interpretable phrases inhabit spaces of contradictory, confrontational or conciliatory meaning. These pieces of art crystallize the unity between landscape, semiotics and spectacle that engenders myriad avenues for contemplation.
“The Only Way Out is Through” is a dynamic collaboration featuring Steele’s signature neon sign art paired with SNYDER’s impactful street art. The neon sign, displaying the Robert Frost quote “The Only Way Out is Through,” illuminates a graffiti mural of a phoenix rising from the ashes. Located within one of the park’s walking tunnels, this installation casts a luminous glow on the backdrop at all hours of the day and night, symbolizing resilience and hope.
If you would like to visit The Only Way Out is Through, here’s a link to the location on Google Maps.
THE ONLY WAY OUT IS THROUGH
This mural represents the journey through difficult times, reminding everyone that perseverance is key. It’s about inspiring people to keep going, no matter how tough things get.
The phoenix is a universal symbol of rebirth and renewal. It’s about finding strength in adversity and coming out stronger on the other side. We hope this piece encourages people to see the potential for new beginnings in every challenge they face.
SNYDER & KENDALL ROSE
A Berlin-based artist who is known under the pseudonym SNYDER uses his background in architecture and a passion for style writing to create unique works of art that blend majestic harmony with iridescent power. His art often depicts endangered animal species, rendered with soulful depth on various media using a spray can. Incorporating chromatic aberrations and blue hues, SNYDER challenges modern visual perception, urging viewers to look beyond digital screens and reconnect with the natural world. His urban-adapted animal motifs captivate and draw in passers-by, encouraging a return to instinctive perceptual behavior.
Kendall Rose Kippley is a contemporary painter and muralist from Denver, Colorado. Her oversized paintings and murals depict abstract, dramatic icescapes. She uses cool, vibrant color palettes to represent melting, calving and shifting glaciers. She is deeply interested in the concept of the sublime in nature, and found that capturing the movement of ice in her paintings has helped her distill these personal awe inspiring moments. Kendalls work is inspired by glaciers at great scale. After visiting the Vatnajokull glacier in Iceland, she felt compelled to create large scale work that would capture the magnitude of the ice as it quickly disappears from our earth.
DON’T LET ME GO
This mural collaboration explores the tension between presence and absence, recognition and loss, adaptation, and change. A tiger’s distinct stripes dissolve into abstraction, a melting glacier is illuminated before it vanishes. The tiger’s fading form asks an urgent question: In the face of climate change, what will remain? What will the world look like without the species and landscapes that define it? As its markings break apart, so does our certainty of the future. Will these patterns only exist in memory, in distortion, in fragments of what once was? The disintegration of tiger stripes and glaciers is not just symbolic but deeply consequential. Both are anchors in their ecosystems, shaping landscapes, regulating life, and maintaining balance. Their disappearance is not just a tragedy but a fundamental shift in the world they leave behind.
Where historic arctic ice meets air, meltwater carves fragile tunnels beneath the surface, revealing brilliant shades of blue as light filters through. These passageways exist in constant motion, their most breathtaking moments occurring just before collapse. Recreating this ephemeral beauty within a permanent tunnel reflects our desire to preserve fleeting moments while also acknowledging the inevitability of change.
Here, the tunnel itself becomes part of the story, a passage through transformation. Surrounded by the evidence of loss, this piece asks us to resist apathy, to witness the unraveling before it is too late. The phrase “Don’t Let Me Go” is both a plea and a command, a call to hold on before what we love disappears forever.
If you would like to visit Don’t Let Me Go, here’s a link to the location on Google Maps.
FÜHLST DU MICH?”
This mural explores the power of language, perception, and connection. Snyder, from Berlin, and Kendall, based in Colorado, chose to translate “Can you feel me?” into “Fühlst Du Mich?” to highlight their collaboration. While the phrase has a direct translation, its German phrasing carries a different nuance, one more commonly used by younger generations in conversation. In this context, it is closer to “You feel me?” than the literal “Do you understand?”. This shift reflects how language, like art, evolves with time, shaping the ways we communicate and connect across cultures.
The mural itself plays with shifting perspectives. The bold contrast of zebra stripes dissolves into abstraction, much like a glacier breaking apart as it melts. Both the zebra and the glacier are symbols of resilience, yet both stand at the edge of uncertainty. As their forms fragment, they ask a question: If we do not recognize what is disappearing, how will we remember what was there, at the end of the tunnel, where light enters, the placement of the question mark is intentional. It invites us to reflect: What is the light at the end of the tunnel? What drives us forward? And most importantly, who do we choose to go there with?
If you would like to visit “Fühlst Du Mich?”, here’s a link to the location on Google Maps.
Glaciers, tigers, and zebras are not just elements of nature; they are markers of balance,
reminders of what is at stake. Their loss is not just an environmental crisis but a shift in the way
we experience the world. Yet, just as light finds its way through an ice tunnel, we too can carve a
path forward. The future is not predetermined—it is shaped by the actions of individuals and the
strength of communities. Whether local or global, it is together that we make an impact.
ANNIE BOLDING
Southern California native Annie Bolding is a muralist and digital illustrator known for her bold, eye-catching designs that celebrate everything bright, retro and groovy. Drawing inspiration from the vibrant hues and energy of the sunny cities she calls home, Annie’s work channels a playful, colorful spirit, transforming ordinary spaces into extraordinary ones.
Annie has collaborated on projects such as large-scale murals for Aviator Nation and LAX International Airport as well as creating captivating artwork for short-term rental properties and retail locations in Palm Springs and Los Angeles. Whether through digital design or murals, Annie’s goal is to bring a burst of color and creativity to every project, making people smile and see the world in vivid new ways.
If you would like to visit the “Mod Magic” Mural Series, here’s a link to the location on Google Maps.
“MOD MAGIC” MURAL SERIES
The “Mod Magic” Mural Series at The Aurora Highlands aims to bring happiness and positivity to all who live and visit. The vibrant energy and bold aesthetics of each mural offer a nostalgic journey through retro colors and patterns that evoke feelings of joy, freedom and a sense of community.
GILLIE AND MARC
British and Australian artists Gillie and Marc are behind this new sculpture and the Statues for Equality movement. Known for their innovative public sculptures that convey messages of love, equality and conservation, Gillie and Marc’s work has captivated audiences worldwide, making a profound impact in over 250 cities. Recently, the New York Times called the duo “the most successful and prolific creators of public art in New York’s History.”
They began their Statues for Equality movement to balance gender and racial representation in public art. By crafting bronze statues of inspirational women, like U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Oprah Winfrey and Eleanor Roosevelt, they aim to not only honor women’s contributions to society but also promote a balanced portrayal of gender in public art across the world.
Dr. Ford stands as a towering figure in medical history, embodying the spirit of resilience and dedication. Despite facing systemic racism and sexism in the early 1900s, she forged a unique path in healthcare, delivering over 7,000 babies and providing vital medical services to immigrants, people of color and the impoverished for five decades from her home in Denver.
If you would like to visit the Dr. Justina Ford statue, here’s a link to the location on Google Maps.
DR. JUSTINA FORD
Over the past 15 years, 99% of our sculpture commission requests have been for statues of men. When we dug deeper, we found this to be a global issue compelling us to pledge our creativity towards rectifying this imbalance. Stories like Dr. Justina Ford’s deserve to be memorialized, and we are profoundly honored to be a part of creating a space for people to connect within The Aurora Highlands and draw inspiration from her remarkable journey for generations to come.
LISA SOLBERG
Lisa Solberg is an American artist born in Chicago. She is recognized for her multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional art. In her work, Solberg unravels the Nature of Existence. Her artistic voice is both mystical and romantic, natural and undeniably human. Solberg studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2001 and received her BFA at University of Colorado at Boulder. Solberg’s former years as an athlete turned into a professional ski career until 2006. She currently lives and works in New York City.
Lisa’s first art installation in The Aurora Highlands is “Totem Triad.”
If you would like to visit Totem Triad, here’s a link to the location on Google Maps.
TOTEM TRIAD
The intention with my work is liberation. It is syncretic- connecting that which is within us, our humanity, to a universal truth.
Within the grounds of Totem Triad lies Mt. Venus, the center point of the entire space withholding all of it’s elements. Engraved upon the top rock is the 8-pointed star for Venus… follow the arms out from the star and you will connect with the Totems.
The totems are inspired by the concept of portals or gateways into sacred spaces. My viewpoint is syncretic and universal. I honor all the native tribes and ancestors that passed through this land with this work.
HUNTER BROWN
Over the last 10 years Brown has created works that can be found in private, commercial, and public art collections in over 25 states and 3 countries. He continues to push outside the box by working with collectors and curators to create innovative design solutions in a variety of formats ranging from small-scale works to monumental public art installations. With emphasis on movement, elegance, space-activation and balance, Brown’s sculptures explore the potential for expressive variety in steel. Each of his designs aim to provide a unique spatial experience for its visitors, while also contributing to the visual identity of a place and catalyzing community engagement.
Hunter’s first sculpture in The Aurora Highlands is “Life Blood.”
If you would like to visit Life Blood, here’s a link to the location on Google Maps.
LIFE BLOOD
ASCLEPIUS
The latest art installation at The Aurora Highlands by Hunter Brown is a contemporary sculpture titled Asclepius. The sculpture is composed of twisting corten steel forms spiraling upward, fixturing a spherical polyhedron at its center. The artwork was inspired by the staff of Asclepius, which like the caduceus, remains the symbol of medicine today. The symbol depicts serpents spiraling upwards around a staff, while the Greek god, Asclepius represents rejuvenation and healing.
Weighing in at just under 3 tons, the piece stands 33 feet high and is erected near the site of the future hospital. The artwork can be seen from E470 as you approach the new off ramp that will become a main entry point to The Aurora Highlands community. While the iconic sculpture is interesting from the adjoining roads it is worth the walk down the walk path for an up-close experience. At night the sculpture is illuminated by programmed Color Kinetics lighting that brings the piece to life. It is Brown’s hope that the iconic sculpture will be received as a beacon of hope for both the community and visitors to the hospital.
If you would like to visit Asclepius, here’s a link to the location on Google Maps.
OLIVIA STEELE
Olivia Steele is a contemporary artist who has earned an international reputation for her spirited public designs at art events and festivals such as ART Biesenthal, Scope Miami, Burning Man and Lightning in a Bottle. Her art is collected and displayed globally in places such as Mongolia, Berlin, Los Angeles, Tulum, Mexico City, Bali and Colorado. Her statements suspend time and motion; within her Art are words of affirmation which have the power to change one’s mindset and entire day for the more positive. The interpretable phrases inhabit spaces of contradictory, confrontational or conciliatory meaning. These pieces of art crystallize the unity between landscape, semiotics and emotion that invites a myriad of avenues for contemplation.
PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AWARENESS
Click here to download a PDF map of the Public Displays of Awareness at Art in the Park.
