The City of OKC sends this information as posted below:
The community is invited to help name a new, larger-than-life sculpture to be installed outside the MAPS 4-funded OKC Louise McCune Animal Welfare Center.
The new center is currently under construction behind the existing facility.
People can view a rendering of the artwork and vote for their favorite name among these four finalists at vision.okc.gov.
- Windy
- Willow
- Oakie
- Thunderdog
Voting closes June 30, 2026. The name with the most votes will be the sculpture’s official title when it’s installed – scheduled for late fall.
About the sculpture
The dog sculpture will stand 14 feet tall and 20 feet long, creating a new landmark for the animal welfare center. Made from carbon steel, the artwork will show a dog whose wind-blown fur transforms into a tangle of rust-colored metal tree branch rods. At night, the sculpture will be illuminated.
Part dog, part Oklahoma wind, part guardian — this artwork is designed to welcome everyone who visits the new OKC Louise McCune Animal Welfare Center.
About the artist
Olga Ziemska is a globally recognized sculptor and environmental artist whose large-scale public artworks and site-specific installations explore the profound relationship between humans and nature. A graduate of Columbus College of Art & Design (BFA, 2000), she gained early recognition through a Fulbright Fellowship at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland.
Through her art, Ziemska challenges us to rethink our relationship with nature—not as separate observers, but as participants in a deeply interconnected system. Her work offers a poetic and thought-provoking vision of what it means to exist within, rather than apart from, the natural world. Renowned for her large-scale, site-specific sculptures, Ziemska has exhibited and created works around the world.
About the OKC Louise McCune Animal Welfare Center
The 70,000-square-foot animal welfare center, funded through MAPS 4, is critical to making OKC a safer and more welcoming place for residents and pets. The $42-million center is scheduled to be completed this fall.
The building will have four entrances, one for each service: adoption, intake, commons/multipurpose and the clinic. The center’s layout will improve the building’s flow, safety and hygiene.
The new facility will feature separate cat and dog kennel wings designed to create quieter, less stressful spaces for pets awaiting adoption. Each kennel room will include windows, so the animals get natural light. The new facility will increase the number of dog kennels to nearly 550 and increase the number of cat condos to more than 300.
The new center is named after the late Louisa McCune. McCune was a passionate advocate for animals. Through her work as Director of the Kirkpatrick Foundation, she was instrumental in securing MAPS 4 funding for the center. Mayor David Holt appointed her to serve on the MAPS 4 Neighborhoods Subcommittee. McCune passed away in 2024 from cancer.
About MAPS 4
MAPS 4 is a debt-free public improvement program funded by a temporary penny sales tax that will raise a projected $1.07 billion over eight years. Oklahoma City voters approved the sales tax to fund MAPS 4 in a special election on Dec. 10, 2019, moving forward with a unique and ambitious plan to transform our community. The temporary penny sales tax funding MAPS 4 began April 1, 2020, and ends in 2028. More than 70 percent of MAPS 4 funding is dedicated to neighborhood and human needs. The rest is for quality of life and
job-creating initiatives. The MAPS 4 Citizens Advisory Board and its six subcommittees will guide MAPS 4 planning and implementation, making recommendations to the City Council. The Council has final authority on MAPS 4. The MAPS Investment and Operating Trust developed a strategic investment plan to support long-term sustainable funding for MAPS 4 projects’ operational expenses and maintenance. Visit okc.gov/maps4 for more.
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