Artistic Review Panel
Request for Proposal submissions were received from 46 artists, of which 28 sculptures by 15 sculpture artists and 2 plinth artists were selected.
The Jury was comprised of six panelists representing different spheres of interest and expertise:
Bill Falco: City of Waco
Bill Falco served as Planning Director for the City of Waco and as Adjunct Professor in Environmental Studies at Baylor University. He received a BBA and MS in Economics from Baylor and a Doctorate of Environmental Design in Urban and Regional Planning from the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University. Projects in which Bill has been involved include the supervision and coordination of three of Waco’s five comprehensive plans as well as a number of plans for Downtown Waco and the Brazos River Corridor. He also worked on the design and implementation of plans for Indian Spring Park; Heritage Square; and Austin Avenue and has served on the boards of the Waco Symphony Orchestra and The Art Center Waco.
Heidi Hornik: Art Historian
Dr. Heidi J. Hornik is Professor of Art History at Baylor University. She came to Baylor after receiving her B.A. from Cornell University and M.A and Ph.D. from Penn State. Dr. Hornik teaches advanced art history courses in the areas of Italian Renaissance, Mannerism, and Baroque Art History as well as the Survey of Western Art. Dr. Hornik was the Director of the Martin Museum of Art at Baylor for fourteen years and enjoyed working with contemporary artists from around the world. Dr. Hornik undertakes research in the archives, libraries, and museums in Florence, Italy, each summer and has lectured in Naples, Florence, Rome, Frankfurt, Cambridge, and Oxford as well as throughout the United States. Her art historical publications have been translated into German, Spanish, and Italian. Her books include the first biography of Italian Renaissance painter Michele Tosini and The Art of Christian Reflection. She has also co-authored, with Dr. Mikeal C. Parsons, five interdisciplinary books on art and theology. She enjoys doing triathlons and officiating at USA Swimming meets.
For more information, see https://www.baylor.edu/art/index.php?id=929156
Amber Nava: Parks & Recreation Commission
Amber Nava is a Waco native, having grown up in South Waco and attending University High School before joining the U.S. Navy. She served 4 years in the U.S. Navy as an F-14 hydraulics mechanical. She has since attended Tarleton State University for both her B.S. in Applied Science and her M.S. in Information Systems. She currently works for MarathonNorco in Waco, TX.
She has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Waco Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, Heart of Texas Soccer, and is president of the Kendrick Neighborhood Association. She resides in Waco, TX with her husband, David and three children.
Felix Padrón: Public Art Expert
Felix N Padrón is a visual artist and arts management professional with twenty-five year experience in the arts non-profit sector. Padrón is proficient in cultural policy, cultural planning, program development and management, grant writing and brand positioning. He dedicated 15 years serving as the Executive Director of the City of San Antonio Department for Culture and Creative Development where he collaborated with non-profit organizations, creative practitioners, elected officials, neighborhood groups and the business community to anchor the arts as an asset to economic development in San Antonio. He managed a multi-million annual portfolio that supported five creative areas including grant making, creative place making, film, cultural facilities, and strategic initiatives. Padrón success is noted by the many transformative strategies he worked on in partnership with multiple public and private agencies.
Prior, Padrón led the development of San Antonio’s first public art program and served six years implementing city- wide place making projects. His responsibilities required a deep understanding of the need to foster a continued collaboration and coordination between artists, design professionals, arts organizations, and community representatives. His success and expertise in the public art arena earned him city-wide respect.
He currently serves on the American Academy of Arts & Sciences’ Arts Commission, the Board of SMU DataArts, and Texans for the Arts Board of Directors. He is a former Texas Arts Commissioner, as well as Americans for The Arts Board member. He also a holds the distinguished Taiwan Arts Ambassador Title awarded by the Taiwan Council for Cultural Affairs, in Taipei, Taiwan.
Padrón is a native of Cuba and is an accomplished artist, curator and commentator in his own right. His artworks have been exhibited widely and published in the New York Times, the New Yorker and Noticias del Mundo. Padrón holds a B.F.A: from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and completed coursework in the Public Arts Studies Masters Program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
He resides in San Antonio, Texas with his wife Ana and their dog Mia.
Dianne Sawyer: Cameron Park Zoological Society
Dianne Sawyer has practiced medicine in Waco as an obstetrician and gynecologist since 1986. In 2019, she was the second female physician ever to be awarded the gold-headed cane award by the McLennan County Medical Society.
Dr. Sawyer attended Texas Women’s University before finishing medical school at UTMB in Galveston. She completed her residency in obstetrics/gynecology at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, where she graduated as Chief Resident before opening her own practice in Waco.
She has been active in the medical and wider community, and served on the Board of the Hillcrest Family Health Clinics, Hillcrest Medical Center Foundation, Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Foundation and American Cancer Society Medical Advisory Board, (serving as Chair in 2005). She has been a member of the Junior League of Waco since 1991, serving as President in 2002 as well as on the Waco Symphony Council since 2000, serving as President in 2009 and in 2019. Additionally, she has served two terms on the Waco Symphony Association Board.
Fiona Bond: Creative Waco
Fiona came to Waco from the UK, where she had over 15 years' senior management experience in the arts and cultural sectors and in the intersection of the arts with economic development and theology. She has directed cultural initiatives for Baylor, Durham, Cambridge and St Andrews Universities, Durham County Council, Durham Literature Festival, Lancaster Literature Festival, Kettle's Yard Gallery (Cambridge University’s Modern Art Museum) and Dundee Contemporary Arts. She is author of 'The Arts in Your Church' (Piquant, 2001) and a number of festival, gallery and music guides.
Fiona’s core expertise is the intersection of the arts with economic development and theology; in other words, she is passionate about creating well-rounded, vibrant communities in which all participants can thrive.
She now juggles her professional role as Executive Director of Creative Waco with MBA studies at Baylor University. She also has two active sons in grade school and plays bagpipes with her younger son for relaxation.