Sunnyvale is looking a lot brighter now thanks to the help of dozens of radiantly painted sun sculptures.

The city recently unveiled Sun Flair, a new public art program comprised of 26 metal suns hand-painted by local artists. The roughly 5-foot tall sculptures will soon be installed at several city parks, and remain on display for up to two years.

The idea for the project was first conceived in November 2021, when the City Council approved $100,000 from the city’s Public Art Fund to help implement new temporary public art. The goal of the program, then titled the Sunnyvale Icon Sculpture Project, was to create art that was “iconic and distinctly Sunnyvale, while providing fun exploration of the community,” according to city documents.Sunnyvale has more than 200 -public art pieces throughout the city for residents to access.

“When we did the outreach, residents really wanted to see smaller and whimsical art, but wanted to be able to make these discoveries as they wandered around Sunnyvale,” said Kristin Dance, the city’s visual arts coordinator.

In May 2023, the council selected a sun sculpture to be the base for the project and authorized the city’s Arts Commission to make the final selection of the design. City staff then issued an open call for artists in the summer 2024, determined the finalist and approved the artist’s design proposals.

The 26 different painting represents each artist’s, “unique interpretation of Sunnyvale values, history and community benefits,” according to the Sun Flair program.

One of the suns includes a neon blue and yellow one, with the word “Sunnyvale” painted on both sides in a curvy font. The design, created by local artist Qinghui Ji, is complete with a small peach icon painted on one side of the sun, and a joystick on the other.

In her artist statement, Ji said the city’s name is meant to form an abstract “brain,” which symbolizes innovation. The small peach represents Sunnyvale’s history as the world’s largest fruit canning city, while the the joystick reflects the video game designer, Atari, and the city’s role in the digital age. Her sun will be installed at Ponderosa Park.

“I loved digging into the history of my city and remembering how this small city has made such a big impact globally,” she said.

Other sun designs have a personal meaning embedded on them. Menlo Park artist John Contreras painted a hazy swirl of blue and white on his sun, then added cacti shapes out of of rebar to the sculpture’s base.

According to Contreras’s artist statement, he has created similar rebar structures for other projects in the past seven years, a series he calls “Under One Sun.” Residents can view his work at Panama Park near South Wolfe Road.

“Constantly being told never to look up at the sun, I would do so from time to time, seeing white and blue swirling around when I looked away,” he said. “My design is abstract to match the cacti elements of my sculpture. I hope this sun will be a beacon for people to reflect and to understand and grow among one another.”