Stunning Seaport Art Installation Nears Completion

Florida Keys Council of the Arts Executive Director Liz Young, District I Commissioner Monica Haskell, and artists Darcy Ferrill and Shawn Trentlage.

October 8, 2025 - The City of Key West is thrilled to see the installation of the newest Art in Public Places project at the Historic Seaport plaza at the corner of Elizabeth and Greene Streets.

Artists Darcy Ferrill and Shawn Trentlage are putting the finishing touches on the first – and largest – of four installations that will welcome residents and visitors to the island city’s crown jewel of a seaport.

“It is rewarding to see the artwork being installed,” said Florida Keys Council of the Arts Executive Director Liz Young. “Both Darcy and Shawn are Key West residents and work around the country as a public art team. Their other recent Monroe County installation is suspended in the vestibule of the County's state of the art newest library branch in Marathon.”

The installation has several aspects that capture the city’s maritime heritage including several renderings of boats and denizens of our nearshore waters. It incorporates patinaed copper, rusted steel, stainless steel, and aged wood. In fact, Steve Henson, a member of the Bight Board, generously gave the artists some of his personal collection of Dade County pine for the bench. It was the artists’ first time working with Dade County pine, and they found it a real honor.

“The goal of our sculpture for the Key West Historic Seaport is for it to be dynamic, engaging, and memorable to the diverse population of Key West and the even wider collection of visitors to the Historic Seaport each day,” the artists wrote in their proposal for the work that was presented to several boards for approval.

“This project is a stunning example of collaboration between several advisory boards and City staff,” said Young. “The Art in Public Places Board Chair at the time Richard Tallmadge and I went several times to Bight Board to receive their input on possible locations and ideas.”

“Our approach to Public Art,” wrote Ferrill and Trentlage, “has been to create pieces that delight and promote positive energy. Our artwork has a continuous integral thread. This thread is a concept of creating a visual journey, one that if for a moment, transports the viewer.”
​
There will be three more installations along Caroline Street, lining the seaport district and helping with wayfinding.