Public art unites us all
Explore the public art pieces at Brooks
Brooks invests in public art because it serves as a long-lasting reminder of our values. While always looking ahead, we use public art to honor our roots and the people and institutions who made our future possible. Learn more about public art pieces Running with the Moon, the Brooks butterflies, Never Forget, Sun Mountain, and the VIA Transit Center wall installation.
Running with the Moon
Illuminating our future
Designed and created by Brad Oldham Sculpture, the piece stands 35 feet tall and soars over The Greenline linear park, casting its glow on park-goers for generations to come. The illuminated crescent-moon shape of the sculpture resembles a kite and harkens back to Brooks’ impact on space exploration, while the butterflies adorned throughout represent the wisdom that has led Brooks to the place it is today. The nearly 6-foot-tall bronze boy is depicted running along the pond pulling the kite, representing future generations empowered by the strong decisions made by fellow residents in earlier times. Just below the sculpture you will find the cover to a time capsule buried and sealed at the installation of this art piece. It is planned to be opened in 2117.
Where to find it: The Greenline
Brooks Butterflies
Taking flight
Complementing the Running with the Moon statue at The Greenline, Brad Oldham also designed a series of butterflies found throughout the park. Stainless steel butterflies with wingspans of 3 to 6 feet and heights landing from 36″ to 60″ represent the transformation that Brooks has gone through for centuries.
Where to find it: The Greenline
Never Forget
Honoring everyday heroes
In an homage to the first responders lost during the events of 9/11, this moving art piece installed at the Emergency Operations Center is a poignant reminder that we honor our emergency response heroes today and every day.
Where to find it: Emergency Operations Center
Sun Mountain
A Brooks legend
This sculpture at Brooks honors the late Congressman Frank Tejeda, a man whose legacy still inspires today as a decorated war veteran and public servant who grew up on San Antonio’s South Side. Congressman Frank Tejeda was instrumental in passing the legislation that created the Brooks Development Authority responsible for turning the base closure of Brooks Air Force Base into the thriving mixed-use community we know today. We partnered with one of the city’s most influential artists, Cruz Ortiz, to create this memorial art piece.
Where to find it: City Base Landing just west of Goliad Road
VIA Transit Center wall installation
Past meets future at Brooks
When designing her art installation for the VIA Transit Center at Brooks, local ceramics master Diana Kersey hoped to complete the metaphor of Brooks as the transformed butterfly that was started with the creation of Running with the Moon statue. By emulating the native plants of the area that are pollinated by the butterflies, the art installation speaks to how Brooks has come full circle, and has benefitted everyone involved in the meantime.
Where to find it: VIA Transit Center, northwest corner of South New Braunfels Avenue and Sidney Brooks
Mission Trail Baptist Hospital Serenity Garden
A space for quiet contemplation
Whether you’re an employee or visitor to the Mission Trail Baptist Hospital at Brooks, you can take a moment to relax in the outdoor serenity garden. Meditate amid the glass and tile mosaic map designed by local artist Oscar Alvarado that depicts the San Antonio River and five historical Missions.
Where to find it: Mission Trail Baptist Hospital, between the medical office building and the hospital
Stargazer
Dreaming big
The primary mural in The Kennedy’s main office was by Los Otros, an urban art and graffiti muralist group. Entitled ‘Stargazer’, the mural is a beautiful depiction of the dream that Kennedy had to go to the moon. A nearly photo-realistic painting of Jack’s head starting just above the upper lip and eyes gazing out over the future of space travel, the moon behind him like a crown or halo, and a impressive organic pattern behind the moon spanning the rest of the wall. In front of the mural hangs modern pendant lighting as if to emulate the stars just out of our reach and not yet explored.
Where to find it: The Kennedy Apartments main office
Brooks Air Force Base
History of evolution
The seven 6-foot high panels were commissioned by the NRP Group, for the Kennedy Apartments at Brooks. The cut metal installation depicts the evolution of the historic Brooks Air Force Base into Brooks, a mixed-use community where anyone can live, work, learn, play, or stay. One panel illustrates the historic Hangar 9, while another panel shows President John F. Kennedy’s official visit to the Brooks Air Force Base before his assassination in Dallas, TX.
Where to find it: Outside of The Kennedy Apartments along Kennedy Hill Drive