A Love Letter
to Our City
Spirit Wings did not start out as an art project. It originated as a placemaking activation, born out of a desire to add to the rich experiences that make Sacramento unique.
In 2015, the Downtown Sacramento Partnership approached Megan Blackwell and Phil Tretheway to participate in an initiative called Bright Ideas. The program challenged citizens to propose projects to active underutilized parts of Sacramento’s downtown core. Freshly inspired by Peter Kageyama’s keynote speech at Metro EDGE’s Emerge Summit, they jumped headfirst into the challenge.
They pitched an idea originally called “Characters on Kay” that would feature ten bronze animal sculptures, each no bigger than a fire hydrant, were installed on light posts, walls, and sidewalks from Old Sacramento’s waterfront, all along the Kay to the Convention Center. Emboldened by feedback on the pitch, Megan and Phil decided to see if they could make the idea happen. After all, how hard could it be?
Seven years later, the City has a trailblazing blueprint for how to plan and permit a citizen-led, multi-site public art installation on a mix of government and private infrastructure. Thanks to the vision of Metro EDGE, the Downtown Sacramento Foundation, and Downtown Commons for seed funding an idea of a project without even an artist selected or a sketch produced.
