Palm Desert council votes to move ‘Taffy’ sculpture to planned Dave Irwin Park

Palm Desert leaders approved placing ‘Taffy’ by artist Stephanie Lin (seen here) in a planned park in the northern section of the city. It had earlier been slated for installation at Civic Center Park.

The Palm Desert City Council voted 4-1 last week to place “Taffy,” a large sculpture on loan to the city, from Civic Center Park to the planned Dave Irwin Park in north Palm Desert.

Staff will now coordinate the change with the lender and the park’s design team, then return with confirmed costs, proposed funding and any needed agreement amendments.

The artwork, which is made of perforated metal, consists of five towers ranging from 25 to 50 feet tall. It was first displayed at the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and the council approved a loan agreement in January. Civic Center Park was the original planned site, but Community Services Manager Shawn Muir said the loan allows the city to choose another location.

The Civic Center site is a turf field used for practices and pickup games, and Muir said sports fields are in high demand. New permanent fields are about three years away at Dave Irwin Park and potentially five to seven years away at a regional park.

Staff said the city has spent about $230,000 on design, engineering and preparatory work for the Civic Center installation. Relocating would cost an estimated $870,000 more, for a total of nearly $1.1 million, which Muir called comparable to finishing the Civic Center installation. The art installation would be paid for from the public art fund. Site work would be rolled into the park’s construction contract.

Muir said the planned 27-acre Dave Irwin Park is at 60% design. Locations under consideration include a pollinator garden, a landscaped triangle called Palm Plaza and a botanical promenade along Dinah Shore Drive. None is an athletic turf field, and no site is final. The sculpture would be visible from Interstate 10, she said.

The artwork would be stored at the city’s corporation yard for about 2.5 to 3 years at no cost. The 10-year loan term would begin at installation, with maintenance estimated at $5,000 a year, Muir said. He said the city intends to renew the loan.

Councilmember Jan Harnik cast the dissenting vote, arguing for ending the loan and revisiting public art closer to the park’s completion. “This is a big commitment,” she said, citing uncertainty about the park.

Councilmember Karina Moreno, who made the motion, said the city would have no way to reclaim the piece if it ended the agreement. “We don’t want to let this go,” she said.