At a May 17 event at Sunnyslope Park, the community celebrated a temporary shade structure, “Reflections on Sunnyslope,” created by artist Jessica Arias as part of the ¡Sombra! Experiments in Shade project (photo by Kathryn M. Miller).
Shade – it is a crucial factor when it comes to helping Phoenix residents cope with the city’s sometimes brutal heat. It is also a key area that the City of Phoenix Office of Heat Response and Mitigation (OHRM) is focusing on in its efforts to help keep its citizens cooler and more comfortable. The city’s focus on shade is spelled out in its Shade Phoenix Plan, approved unanimously by Phoenix City Council in November 2024. Their vision? “A future in which all community members and visitors experience the benefits of trees and built shade throughout Phoenix.”
Extreme heat is a public health challenge for the city of Phoenix, the plan says, especially for community members with higher physical sensitivity, more exposure and fewer coping resources. Over the past 10 years, Phoenix has averaged more than 115 days each year with daytime temperatures exceeding 100°F, and more than 45 days each year when the overnight low temperature does not fall below 85°F. Hot days and nights are becoming more common and are projected to increase in frequency and intensity in the coming decades.
Shade helps combat that heat by reducing air, surface and radiant temperatures, and with that in mind, the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture worked in conjunction with OHRM, the City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department, and the Office of Innovation to launch the ¡Sombra! Experiments in Shade project in 2024. The funding came from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge grant, which invited mayors of U.S. cities with 30,000 residents or more to apply for up to $1 million in funding to create temporary public art projects that address important civic issues and demonstrate an ability to generate public-private collaborations, celebrate creativity and urban identity and strengthen local economies.
By mid-May, five of the nine projects had been unveiled to the public, including “Reflections on Sunnyslope,” which was celebrated at Sunnyslope Park on May 17. The structure was inspired by the views of North Mountain that the surround the park said artist Jessica Arias.
“The canopy mimics their contours, offering a visual connection to the landscape just beyond the park,” she said.
The structure not only provides a space for respite from the sun, she said, but also promotes awareness of heat resilience. The light green outer canopy surface is made from UV-resistant material that helps reflect solar heat, while the flags are made from durable, weather-resistant fabric. The steel structure utilizes matte colors to reduce heat absorption and features a heat-resistant finish, ensuring the artwork’s functionality in Arizona’s climate.
At the heart of “Reflections on Sunnyslope” is community engagement. The public was invited to contribute personal reflections about the natural environment, sharing their thoughts through drawings and notes on the colorful flags that are attached to the underside of the canopy.
Arias also looked beyond the natural environment when considering the project.
“I think that sometimes talking about urban heat, it easily becomes a conversation about how we have to fix the environment or it is nature against humans or some kind of adversarial thing,” she said. “I wanted to sort of complicate that by thinking about urban heat as mostly a problem of materials in the urban environments. Not the natural climate, even in the desert, it’s about concrete and asphalt trapping heat and creating heat all throughout the day and the night and those effects sort of accumulating.”
And it is that kind of thought process that the project encouraged – prompting the community to look at local issues in new ways. Yes, with an artistic eye, but with potential broader solutions beyond the utility of creating shade.
While the grant only allowed for temporary art installations – they will remain at the nine park locations through the end of September – the city is considering options for the future, according to Carrie Brown, deputy director of the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture.
“All of the artists have created unique shade structures as the name implies. We encouraged them to experiment with different types of materials, different types of application methods, and what we can do is some test things out and see what works, what doesn’t work, and what we might be able to implement in a permanent fashion going forward.”
Unveiling events will continue this month, including at Steele Indian School Park, 300 E. Indian School Road, from 4-9 p.m. Saturday, June 21. A Celebration of Shade Festival is also scheduled at the park on Sept. 20, 6-9 p.m. Learn more about the project at www.sombraphx.org.
