Two years ago, Uptown Dallas Inc. commissioned local artist Ricardo Paniagua to create a crosswalk in the intersection of Lemmon and McKinney avenues. The piece would not only be a vibrant public art installation, it would also serve to slow down traffic. But as UDI went through the approval process at City Hall, it hit an obstacle, and then another. The project fell to the wayside. Paniagua’s art piece—designed, printed on thermoplastic—sat in storage. Then, in April, UDI chair Katy Slade walked new City Manager T.C. Broadnax around Uptown with Councilman Philip Kingston. When they came to the crosswalk, Slade told them about the art piece. Broadnax took charge. In just a couple of weeks, Unicorn Art Theory was on the street.
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