Lance Avery Morgan
Guided By An Extraordinary Public Art Council, Southwestern University In Georgetown, Near Austin, Is Redefining How Universities Use Art To Build Community, Inspire Curiosity, And Create Enduring Places Of Meaning. Nationally Acclaimed Curator Miki Garcia And Internationally Recognized Cultural Strategist András Szántó Will Help Shape A Landmark Artwork Designed To Become The Defining Symbol Of Southwestern University’s Visionary 560-Acre District
By Lance Avery Morgan Photography by SU 560
Creating A Place With A Soul: How Southwestern University’s Visionary Public Art Commission Will Define The Future Of SU 560
There are moments when universities build new buildings. Then there are moments when they build a legacy.
With the announcement of its landmark public art commission for Southwestern University 560 (SU 560), the nation’s oldest institution of higher learning in Texas is choosing the latter; creating not simply another mixed-use development, but an enduring cultural destination where art, education, innovation, hospitality, and community become inseparable.
The ambitious 560-acre district adjoining Southwestern University’s historic Georgetown campus represents one of the country’s most forward-thinking university-led developments. Yet before visitors experience its future boutique hotel, vibrant dining, entertainment venues, retail, residences, or expansive Art Park, they will first encounter something far more profound: a monumental work of public art designed to tell the story of the place itself.
Rather than treating art as decoration, Southwestern is positioning it as the emotional and intellectual gateway into an entirely new community. “SU 560 is envisioned as a place where culture is something you can walk into, taste, hear, and feel. Here, art is a priority, dining is exciting, and every shop invites discovery. A boutique hotel offers a place to stay, and a music venue brings sound and energy to life,” shares Laura Skandera Trombley, President of Southwestern University.
Trombley continues, “Rooted in Southwestern University’s long legacy of education and culture, SU 560 is a place that honors where we’ve been while creating space for what’s next. A landmark artwork will provide the front door to this vision. It welcomes every visitor, tells our story, and creates a lasting sense of place that will define SU 560 for generations to come.”
That vision is now being entrusted to one of the country’s most respected museum leaders. As Director of the Arizona State University Art Museum, nationally acclaimed curator Miki Garcia will lead the search for the artist whose work ultimately becomes the defining symbol of SU 560. Working alongside internationally renowned cultural strategist András Szántó and a distinguished Public Art Council composed of leaders from philanthropy, technology, higher education, design, business, and the arts, Garcia will oversee a process intended to create far more than an iconic sculpture.
Instead, the commission seeks to create a cultural landmark that can be woven into the identity of Georgetown itself.
More Than Public Art
For Garcia, the opportunity immediately stood apart from traditional commissions.
“Southwestern University has the rare opportunity to create something that is both culturally ambitious and deeply welcoming. That combination is incredibly exciting because we’re not just selecting an artwork; we’re helping establish the values of an entire district,” Garcia says.
She believes gateway artworks possess a remarkable ability to communicate before a single word is spoken. “Public art is a form of soft power—it shapes how people feel about a place before they’ve stepped inside a classroom or met a single person. It signals what a community values, what it is curious about, and what kind of future it hopes to create,” Garcia explains.
For Southwestern, Garcia hopes the selected work will embody “curiosity, openness, imagination, and generosity,” inviting visitors not toward answers, but toward questions, a philosophy she believes mirrors the very purpose of a liberal arts education.
“Rather than providing answers, it should invite questions. It should create a moment of pause in an increasingly distracted world,” shares Garcia.
Building A Place Beyond A Development
As SU 560 evolves into a destination integrating commerce, hospitality, education, and recreation, Garcia believes art becomes the defining ingredient that prevents the project from becoming interchangeable with countless other mixed-use communities.
“Artists have the remarkable ability to resist that sameness,” Garcia says. “They can translate the history, ecology, culture, and aspirations of a community into something that exists nowhere else.”
She believes the commission offers Georgetown an extraordinary opportunity. “The artwork should carry the imprint of this landscape, this university, and this community, giving SU 560 a cultural identity that distinguishes it from ‘Anytown USA.’ In doing so, art becomes far more than an amenity. It becomes the element that transforms a development into a place with memory, meaning, and a soul,” Garcia enthuses.
That philosophy perfectly complements Southwestern’s broader vision for the district, which seeks to honor Central Texas’s history while embracing the future through innovation and collaboration.
Honoring History While Also Looking Forward
The future landmark will acknowledge the Native peoples who first inhabited the land, celebrate the natural beauty of the Texas Hill Country, and reflect Southwestern University’s liberal arts mission.
Garcia believes contemporary artists are uniquely positioned to bridge those worlds.
“The most compelling contemporary artists understand that history isn’t something to decorate… it’s something to engage,” Garcia states. “Contemporary art allows us to acknowledge the past while imagining a more inclusive future.”
Collaboration At The Highest Level
Helping shape the commission is an exceptional Public Art Council that includes arts philanthropists, university leaders, artists, designers, entrepreneurs, technology executives, and cultural visionaries.
Garcia sees this diversity as one of the initiative’s greatest strengths. “Designers think spatially. University leaders think about education. Philanthropists think about long-term impact. Business leaders understand community development. Artists imagine possibilities others haven’t considered,” Garcia notes.
She continues, “When those perspectives come together with mutual respect, the final decision becomes stronger than any one individual could have reached alone,”
The council includes nationally respected philanthropist Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo, Google executive Brian Jackson, artist Kyle Hawley, sculptor Ron Geibel, poet Tom Healy, Southwestern graduate and artist Elle Reede, Chief Marketing Officer Dinah Ritchie, President Laura Skandera Trombley, and landscape architect Drew Carman.
A New Chapter For Texas Arts
Garcia also sees Southwestern’s investment as part of a broader cultural evolution happening across Texas. “Texas has reached an exciting moment where contemporary artistic projects are matching the state’s extraordinary growth,” Garcia said.
Rather than following established cultural centers, she believes Texas is forging its own identity. “It’s developing its own cultural identity: one rooted in landscape, history, diversity, innovation, and an independent spirit.”
Ultimately, Garcia hopes people won’t simply admire the finished work.
She hopes they’ll claim it as their own. “I hope people don’t simply admire the artwork. I hope they feel that it belongs to them,” Garcia shares.
She imagines future generations growing up alongside it, alumni returning to visit it, and travelers recognizing it as the unmistakable symbol of Southwestern University and Georgetown.
“Higher education has the opportunity not only to educate students but also to create extraordinary public spaces where art, ideas, and community flourish together. If this commission helps establish that vision, I think its impact will extend far beyond a single artwork,” Garcia says.
For Southwestern University, that may ultimately become the greatest achievement of SU 560.
Not simply creating another destination, but creating a place that people remember, return to, and proudly call part of their own story.
Top 10 Reasons Southwestern University’s SU 560 Public Art Initiative Is A Landmark Moment For Texas
- It will create the defining visual identity of the transformative 560-acre SU 560 district.
- Nationally acclaimed curator Miki Garcia will oversee the artist selection.
- International cultural strategist András Szántó helped shape the project’s vision.
- The artwork will become the symbolic gateway into the future Art Park.
- The commission honors Central Texas history and Indigenous heritage.
- The project blends education, hospitality, commerce, and culture into one destination.
- A distinguished Public Art Council brings together leaders from art, business, philanthropy, technology, and higher education.
- The artwork is intended to become an enduring civic landmark—not simply a sculpture.
- The initiative reinforces Texas’ emergence as one of America’s most exciting cultural landscapes.
- SU 560 demonstrates how universities can use public art to shape community identity for generations.
