Contact: Marguerite Elicone (619) 686-6222

March 6, 2006- Another successful season of the Port of San Diego’s Urban Trees public art project has come to an end and now it’s time to prepare for a new planting. Beginning March 9, the trees currently gracing the waterfront of the North Embarcadero will be de-installed to make way for Urban Trees 3.

Some of this year’s standouts in the exhibition include the tree, "Arbor Urbanus Metallicus," by sculptor James T. Frost. The welded steel sculpture rotates and pivots with the wind while providing shade.

Constructed by students of NASSCO’s Apprentice Welding School, it is a unique melding of industrial art and public art. Students were able to perfect their skills to build massive Navy vessels as they created a unique artwork.

Other distinctive Urban Trees were "Shoe Tree," a tree with pairs of shoes growing out of its branches; "Prismatic Willow," an elegant, shimmering tree that features Swarovski crystals; and "Treeway," a colorful, cartoonish sculpture that pokes fun at San Diego’s traffic situation.

Many of the sculptures are available for purchase from the artists. Prices range from $3,000 to $30,000. Interested buyers may contact the Port’s Public Art Department at (619) 686-7246.

Urban Trees was initiated in the spring of 2003 as a temporary public art project that incorporated a design contest. Artists submitted maquettes of their potential tree sculptures, which were then judged by the Port’s Public Art Committee.

Thirty designs were chosen to be constructed into full-sized sculptures that were installed along the San Diego Bay waterfront for a period of one year. The Port of San Diego paid each artist $2,000 as a stipend for the materials needed to create the sculptures. After the yearlong exhibition period expired, the sculptures were returned to the artists.

The project became a big hit for the Port of San Diego and drew worldwide media attention. KPBS public television created a documentary on the production of the James Frost tree and other local news stations covered the various sculpture installations. A newspaper in Paris, France also published a story on the project.

The 2006 Urban Trees promise to be just as innovative as their predecessors.

Examples include "Remember," a sculpture constructed from stainless steel and copper resembling kelp beds and inspired by an era when the oceans were abundant with fish; "Candy Land Tree," evokes memories of a children’s board game and features transparent acrylic windows that reflect light and echo the glass-like texture of hard candy; and "Seaweed Tree," a wind-activated kinetic sculpture made from weathered and stainless steel. Installation of the 30 new trees will begin in April and a dedication ceremony will be held May 20 to mark the project’s completion.

The Port’s Public Art Program was created in 1996 to promote a healthy, vibrant atmosphere that contributes to the quality and identity of the region. The Port enacted the first "percent for art" program in San Diego County and now dedicates one percent of its projected revenues each year toward a public art fund that is used for the acquisition and maintenance of public artworks on Port tidelands.