Art at Play – Two New Public Art Installations at Neighborhood Parks

Huntsville’s public art collection has grown with two new installations by local artists. Community Pillars at Archer Park and Compass Rose Family at Rose Park in Westlawn transform neighborhood spaces while inviting residents of all ages to engage with art.

Community Pillars: Where Community Art Takes Permanent Form

At Archer Park, three colorful sculptural pillars now stand as a celebration of community collaboration. Created by local artist and NASA aerospace engineer Gwyer Sinclair, Community Pillars incorporates artwork from community members. Drawings from students from Ridgecrest, McDonnell, Challenger, and Rolling Hills Elementary Schools, as well as patrons of the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library, are included in the installation.

Sinclair, who blends a lifelong love of discovery with an artistic approach that unifies art and science, selected 40 designs from over 200 submitted drawings. The artist then transformed these into durable, colorful metal shapes that now adorn the surfaces of the three pillars. Placed near the park’s pavilion and playground, the installation creates a vibrant focal point that celebrates the community’s creativity.

With a professional background in engineering and a creative practice that includes animation, digital media, and traditional drawings, Sinclair brings his passion for art and community engagement to this neighborhood park.

Nora Ward, a student from Challenger Elementary, one of the artists that contributed to ‘Community Pillars’

Compass Rose Family: Learn About Earth’s Place in Space Through Art

A few miles away in Rose Park, located between North Rose Drive and South Rose Drive in the Westlawn neighborhood, Compass Rose Family honors Huntsville’s legacy in space exploration while offering a hands-on learning experience.

The artist is Dr. Deborah Barnhart, a retired Navy captain, former Space & Rocket Center CEO, and a Westlawn native. Selected through a blind review process by the Huntsville Public Art Committee and Huntsville Parks and Recreation, Barnhart’s design merges history, art, and science. The four-part installation—Compass Rose, Sun Dial, Vitruvian Astronaut, and Earth Sphere—invites park visitors to explore Earth’s place in space. Each sculpture offers interactive elements and the installation includes repurposed materials sourced from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, highlighting Huntsville’s role in space science.

With a distinguished career in aerospace, defense, and education, Barnhart brings a unique blend of leadership and vision to the project. To further its educational impact, she also collaborated with Arts Huntsville’s Creative Launchpad to create a student-friendly learning guide that expands on the artistic and scientific concepts embedded in the work.

City and Community, Creating Together

Council Member Bill Kling, artist Dr. Deborah Barnhart with her corgi companions Tux and Qi, and Arts Huntsville Executive Director Allison Dillon-Jauken stand beside ‘Earth Sphere’, one of four sculptures in the ‘Compass Rose Family’ installation.

Both installations were made possible through the support of District 4 Council Member Bill Kling and the City of Huntsville’s discretionary improvement fund, demonstrating the city’s ongoing commitment to enriching neighborhoods through public art.

These new additions to Huntsville’s public art collection bring visual enhancements and create gathering points for community engagement and learning. Whether it’s community members seeing their drawings transformed into permanent art or families exploring navigation concepts through sculptural play, both installations demonstrate how public art can create lasting connections between artists, residents, and the spaces they share.