Center for the Arts Selects John Grade for New Public Art Installation
Jackson, WY | June 17, 2026 — Center for the Arts is thrilled to share the selection of John Grade as the artist for the next outdoor art installation in The Center Park. Chosen from a competitive pool of over 160 applications from artists across the country, Grade’s proposal stood out as a homage to Jackson’s deep-rooted relationship between the natural environment and the humans that inhabit it.
Grade’s installation will feature a suspended net across The Center Amphitheater with a constellation of elements that will evoke both the complex anatomy of a tree as well as the larger composition of a forest.
The proposed sculpture is inspired by the role of wildfire in the ecology of forests surrounding Jackson, drawing on the history of human influence in managing and preventing burns. The Rocky Mountain Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta latfolia) will serve as the specific species of tree for inspiration, and the sculpture will reflect how the tree grows and burns differently in high alpine isolation compared to dense stands at lower elevation.
Grade’s work is internationally renowned, with large-scale installations in Italy’s Sella Sculpture Park, Seattle’s University of Washington Arboretum, and Palo Alto’s Twin Dolphin Life Sciences Complex. He is the recipient of the 2010 Metcalf Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Tiffany Foundation Award, as well as multiple grant and innovator awards.
The artist selection was facilitated by Jackson Hole Public Art, and determined by a selection panel comprising art curators, architects, neighbors of The Center, community leaders, and representatives from JH Public Art and The Center.
"Great public art challenges us to contemplate our relationship with the world on a level that goes far beyond our individual selves,” Carrie Geraci, director of JH Public Art, said. “John Grade’s art invites us to step outside ourselves to a place where we imagine new realities and see the lifecycle of a tree or a plant cell with fresh eyes and a new understanding of how we are all connected to nature."
The installation of the suspended art piece will begin across The Center Amphitheater next summer, 2027, with a public unveiling in the fall of 2027. The Jackson community will be invited to participate in the installation of The Center’s first-ever suspended art piece, helping to connect thousands of translucent cast forms to the intricate stainless-steel net. More information will be available closer to the installation date next year.
“Grade’s proposed art installation felt like a natural reflection of both Jackson’s values and what The Center represents,” Marty Camino, Executive Director at The Center, said. “His artwork features a menagerie of many small individual elements that come together to create something larger; from the beginning, The Center was always intended to uplift this vast arts ecosystem we have in Jackson, and this piece represents how so many elements come together beautifully. It’s the perfect piece to represent who we are as a community, who we are as an organization, and to celebrate our 20th Anniversary.”
ABOUT CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Center for the Arts connects and strengthens Jackson Hole’s creative community by providing a dedicated arts campus and supporting excellent cultural programming for all ages. The Center is home to 18 local and regional nonprofit arts organizations, offering performance venues, galleries, studios, classes, and collaborative spaces that inspire creativity and connection. The Center places art and culture at the heart of community life through a rich calendar of concerts, theater, visual arts, lectures, and educational opportunities that are inclusive and accessible to everyone. www.jhcenterforthearts.org
ABOUT JACKSON HOLE PUBLIC ARTJackson Hole Public Art forges partnerships for the integration of art into any environment to inspire lasting cultural, educational, and economic benefits. JH Public Art is a non-profit organization and our community’s leading presenter of artist-driven projects in public space. They place artworks outside traditional venues of museums and galleries to provide access to art for all people. JH Public Art has been hired to help facilitate the artist selection process. www.jhpublicart.org
