HOUSTON - The City of Houston has selected artists Koryn Rolstad and Sherry Tseng Hill to create original artworks for the new Southwest Police Station due to open by the end of this year.

“Bringing art to neighborhoods is one way to extend the benefits of the arts to more residents and families,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “I look forward to seeing the completion of these two art commissions, which are inspired by our community and intended to help make the station become a welcoming space of public service.”

The station, off South Post Oak and adjacent to Cambridge Village Park, replaces the old Beechnut police station and will serve the patrol area that includes Meyerland, Hiram Clarke, Almeda and Bellaire Boulevard. The 50,000-square-foot facility will have a community meeting room and adjacent playground that will eventually connect to the Bayou Greenways project.

Artist Koryn Rolstad’s outdoor sculpture, Illuminated Community Reflections, is a “grove” of abstract tree-like structures of colorful structural acrylic and powder-coated aluminum creating a lively, highly visible and distinctive entry to the station.

With a background in architecture and fine arts, Koryn Rolstad produces installations that are fun, educational and pertinent to their architectural ‘'home’’ and ‘‘sense of place,” often re-imagining public spaces to provide communities’ opportunities for connectivity, interaction and sustained development. Rolstad holds a bachelor of arts degree in fine arts, environmental design and architecture from the University of Washington. Based in Seattle, the artist has completed numerous commissions throughout the United States and internationally.

For the community meeting room, Houston artist Sherry Tseng Hill is creating her first public commission—a new City Sites series of paintings -- by exploring the neighborhood and consulting with station officers about the community’s history.

Described as “visual jazz,” Sherry Tseng Hill’s work includes a variety of media to create intricate pieces evoking what it is like to be in a big city at a specific moment in time, signified by the surrounding buildings and infrastructure of contemporary life.

Born and raised in Taiwan, Tseng Hill first picked up a paintbrush when she was seven and has been creating ever since. She holds a bachelor of arts in art history and bachelor of architecture from Rice University. She has a full-service architecture firm in Houston.

The artist selection panels were comprised of five individuals, including representation from the Houston Police Department, the architecture firm designing Southwest Police Station, the local community surrounding the new station and Houston artists and arts professionals. The selection process and management of the artist projects is provided by Houston Arts Alliance, under contract with the city and in conjunction with Houston’s General Services Department.

In 1999, the City of Houston established an ordinance mandating that 1.75% of qualified Capital Improvement Project funds be set aside for civic art. The program is managed by the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs.

For more information about the City’s Cultural Programs go to www.houstontx.gov/culturalaffairs or follow the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs on Facebook @HoustonMOCA.