The Downtown Fresno art installation "Acero Picado" was officially unveiled this morning. Photo by Frank Lopez

A dedication ceremony was held on Fulton Street’s Mariposa Plaza in Downtown Fresno on Monday to celebrate a new public artwork installation.

The art piece, titled “Acero Picado,” consists of three steel arched gateways paired with panels and benches with cut out images inspired by paper cuts of Mexican folk art that represent aspects of Central Valley life.

Mayor Lee Brand and members of Fresno’s City Council spoke at the event, and there were 200 students from nearby Kepler Neighborhood School attending the event.

This is the newest public artwork installed in the area since 1964. Napa Valley artist Gordon Heuther, the creator of “Acero Picado,” said that public artwork brings the community together.

“Public art is definitely part of the fabric of communities,” Heuther said. “This public art, I think, is relevant to this community. I was looking for things that would reach out and engage the youth and everyone else in being down here.”

The piece cost $200,000 to produce, with $150,000 being funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Around $3.7 million dollars will be spent revitalizing the Mariposa Plaza. Other donors include the City of Fresno, The Downtown Partnership, the Fresno Housing Authority, Creative Fresno, SP Plus Parking and WRT.

Mayor Brand said that Mariposa Plaza was the focal point of Fulton Mall and that the new artwork highlights and will hopefully bring more people downtown.

“When I was on the city council a few years ago, we approved the Mariposa Plaza project with a goal of increasing foot traffic on Fulton Street,” Brand said. “We invited the public to collaborate with the artist on the new design, and it’s really paid off.”