Gainesville Police Department Property & Evidence Facility Public Art Exhibition

The Gainesville Police Department (GPD) has proudly served our community from its headquarters at 721 NW Sixth St. since 1952. As Gainesville has grown, so have the needs of its police department. Following the completion of a new state-of-the-art Administration Building in 2014, GPD is now expanding its Property and Evidence Facility. Construction is currently underway.

As part of this expansion, the City of Gainesville's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department, in partnership with the Gainesville Art in Public Places Trust and the Gainesville Police Department, invited professional artists from across the country to submit qualifications for a new public art opportunity.

Through a competitive request for qualifications (RFQ) process, three finalists were selected to develop original concepts for an artistic fencing installation. The artwork will define the perimeter of the new facility while enhancing the experience of those who walk, bike, and travel along the nearby rails-to-trails multiuse path—a treasured community corridor that follows a historic railroad alignment.

This public art project thoughtfully combines artistic expression with functional infrastructure, transforming a necessary security feature into a meaningful work of public art. The selected design will enrich the pedestrian experience, celebrate Gainesville's history and character, and reflect the values of our community while meeting all safety, security, and durability requirements.

 

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This design proposal, titled Rising Sun, features a colorful sun with a waving blue ribbon layered on top of a sky with a series of laser cut text filling in the negative space. Each of these elements were selected for their symbolism of the police department and the Gainesville community. The sun is depicted on the badge of the department and is also linked to Florida’s nickname of the Sunshine State; the blue ribbon is often used to symbolize solidarity and support for police officers; and the text includes 10 words that reflect all members of the Gainesville Police Department.

Common Light reflects that movement, rhythm and light. The composition plays with circular forms that evoke citrus slices, bicycle wheels, train wheels and sunlight simultaneously, allowing the imagery to remain open, recognizable, and interconnected rather than literal. Flowing structural bands reference pathways, rail lines, and the flow of music.

Common Light combines architectural kiln-cast and laminated glass, fabricated aluminum, and mosaic elements appropriate for long-term exterior installation and public interaction within the framework of the existing fence system.

Thick kiln-cast glass elements transmit natural light throughout the day. At sunrise and sunset, the cast glass produces shifting reflections, shadows, and internal radiance that change with weather, season, and viewpoint. The lower mosaic portion grounds the piece, referencing both the movement of the bike trail and the layered textures of the surrounding landscape. Swallowtail kites and botanical forms introduce moments of lift, growth, and connection to nature.

Mosaic elements will be assembled on cement backer board using exterior-grade mortar systems, attached to aluminum backing plates, and grouted during final onsite installation.

The completed artwork panel will be installed between structural fence posts anchored to engineered concrete footings.

This design proposal, titled Shared Identity, features silhouettes of a community scene layered in front of a patterned abstracted fingerprint background. The silhouettes characterize the importance of community and collaboration between both the station and the surrounding neighborhoods. The men and women working in the police department are a symbol of both service and community. They are some of the pillars that keep the neighborhoods strong. The fingerprint patterned background was selected as it connects to the new Property and Evidence Building addition, creating a swirling sky pattern, while also providing transparency.

This design proposal, titled Common Ground, offers an alternative background to the same silhouette foreground as Shared Identity. In Common Ground, the patterned background includes three different repeating tiles that create an abstract backdrop to the foreground silhouettes. These tiles include a simplified version of the Gainesville Police badge, a patrol person's cap, and a pair of shaking hands, representing the collaboration between the department and community.

This corridor once carried the working lines of Gainesville’s early railroad, connecting farmland, freight, and community across what was then known as Hogtown.

The vertical members in the installation reflect the form of railroad ties. Each is illuminated with two parallel lines of light, recalling the rails that once ran through them.

What once moved trains now carries memory, reframed as a quiet field of light along the path it once defined.