A steel sphere stands at the corner of San Miguel and Avocado in Civic Center Park. It was only supposed to be there for two years. Sphere 112, by Ivan McLean, was part of the park's first sculpture exhibition in September 2014, and residents chose it as their favorite piece. Because it was so popular, the Newport Beach Arts Foundation bought it. The City Council voted on February 14, 2017 to add it to the city's permanent collection, and that date is on the plaque, not the date of the dedication ceremony a few weeks later, as the Newport Beach Independent reported. The city calls it the first work to stay in the park permanently.
The same kind of resident input is open again right now. Until November 20, Newport Beach residents can pick their favorites from 21 finalists for Phase XI of the exhibition. The rules have changed since 2014, though. The works chosen this fall won't be installed until July 2027, and they'll stay for three years once they arrive. Under the slower rotation, this vote helps shape what stands along half the park's sculpture route for much longer than it used to.
The calendar behind this ballot
This vote runs well ahead of the art itself. Here is the timeline, starting with the panel meeting that chose the finalists:
- October 8, 2026: At its monthly meeting, a City Arts Commission curatorial panel chose the works for the public poll. The panel included mixed media artist Kacie Lynn Martinez, artist Ann Phong and representatives of Arts Orange County. They scored each application on artistic merit, durability, practicality and fit with the site, according to Stu News Newport.
- November 20, 2026: The online poll closes.
- January 12, 2027: The City Council is scheduled to review the selections for final approval.
- June 2027: The ten Phase IX sculptures, installed in June 2024, come out.
- July 2027: Phase XI goes in.
- June 2029: Phase X, installed this past June, comes out.
That makes about eight months between the end of the vote and the first installation. After July 2027, the Phase XI works stay for the full three-year loan.
Why each phase now stays a year longer
The exhibition started with a two-year cycle. The City Council approved the program in August 2013, and Phase I's ten sculptures went in during 2014. Nine Phase II sculptures followed in September 2015, with the tenth, Sunflower, scheduled for January 2016. The first group was removed and returned to the artists in 2016. The Daily Pilot reported in November 2024 that the city had paid to display 20 sculptures at a time since 2014, swapping out 10 every year.
Those swaps cost the most. City staff told the Daily Pilot that removing old pieces and installing new ones made up most of the program's cost. The City Council voted 7-0 to move to three-year loans, which the paper said would save about $70,000 that year and about $30,280 a year in later rotations. The Arts Commission had already recommended the change unanimously in September 2024.
"We get to maintain the same level of service we've always had," Councilman Noah Blom said at the meeting, according to the Daily Pilot. "We get to maintain art in the civic center."
The longer loans started with Phases VIII and IX. The park still holds 20 pieces, ten from Phase IX and ten from Phase X. Each new group now stays half again as long as the original two-year groups, so the ten works chosen this fall will make up half the park's sculptures for three years.
Who votes, and how much the vote decides
The poll is on SparkOC, the arts site that hosts it for Arts Orange County. Arts Orange County is the nonprofit countywide arts council that runs selection and installation under contract with the city. The rules are short:
- Only Newport Beach residents can vote.
- Voting is online only.
- You can pick up to ten of the 21 finalists.
- Each person votes once and has to give a valid email address and ZIP code.
- Your picks don't count until you submit the form at the bottom of the page.
The poll advises the decision but doesn't make it. The vote totals go to a jury made up of the City Arts Commission and two outside experts, and that jury chooses the official selections and alternates. After that, each piece is checked to make sure it's still available, can be installed safely and can be put under contract with the artist. The City Council makes the final decision.
The terms are the same for every artist. Each selected work is on loan to the city for three years, and its artist gets a small honorarium. The city installs the piece, and the artist is responsible for maintenance and repairs.
Familiar names on the ballot
Three of the 21 finalists come from artists whose work is already in the park. All three have pieces in the Phase IX group that comes out next June.
| Artist | In Civic Center Park now | Phase XI finalist |
|---|---|---|
| Catherine Daley | Millefolium, Phase IX; Cosmos: Starry, Starry Night, Phase X | Lucunae |
| Pamela Ambrosio | Interplay, Phase IX | Rivulet |
| Matt Cartwright | Trillium Bus Stop Bench, Phase IX | Heron Gesture |
If Daley's Lucunae is chosen, she could have pieces from two phases in the park at once, since Cosmos stays until June 2029. The other Phase IX works coming out in June 2027 are Reaching Man by Ron Whitacre, Glee by Cindy Debold, Duality by Giuseppe Palumbo, Growing Wings by Hilde DeBruyne, Heavy Landing by Vojtech Blazejovsky, Gecko by Doug Snider and Natural Wonders by Michele Moushey Dale.
The rest of the finalists include INSPIRE by Sarah Wilkinson, Quantum Entanglement by Michael Shewmaker, Thetis by Yoko Kubrick, Cerberus by Matt Babcock, Handstand by Daniel Stern, Water Totem by Anne Faith Nicholls, Beckoning Neko (Cat) Altar by Suguru Hiraide, Meta Girl by Oleg Lobykin, Ode To Calder by Chris Rench and Avian Pilgrimage by Tiimo Mang. Click any image in the poll to see it full size before you choose.
See the current pieces before you vote
Seeing the pieces that are leaving makes it easier to judge the finalists. Civic Center Park covers 14 acres, and a 1.23-mile walking trail runs along a natural wetlands area past the sculptures. A bridge connects the park's two parcels and looks out over the city to the Pacific. The north end has the city's only dog park, with separate areas for big and small dogs.
For a self-guided sculpture tour, the city recommends its MyNB app. If you already have it, update it to load the newest pieces. The SparkOC poll page also has a map of where the Phase IX and Phase X pieces stand. Admission is free.
The Central Library at 1000 Avocado Avenue is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Parking rules and hours differ from lot to lot, so check the city's parking information page before you go. You can send questions about the exhibition to the city's Cultural Arts staff at [email protected].
Sphere 112 is still at San Miguel and Avocado, the one piece from 2014 that never left. You have until November 20 to help choose the ten pieces that will stand near it from July 2027.
At 1% Listing Broker, we follow Newport Beach the same way, down to which sculptures are leaving and when. If you're thinking about selling before Phase XI arrives, you'll get full-service marketing for a flat 1% fee and keep more of your equity. Get your free 1% home valuation.
