Something exciting is coming to Oklahoma City Animal Welfare — a new larger-than-life public artwork, and the community gets to help name it.

This striking dog sculpture will stand 14 feet tall and 20 feet long, creating a bold new landmark for the shelter. Made from carbon steel, the artwork will show a majestic dog whose wind-blown fur transforms into a tangle of rust-colored metal tree branch rods.

Part dog, part Oklahoma wind, part shelter guardian — this artwork is designed to welcome everyone who visits Oklahoma City Animal Welfare.

A New Landmark for OKC Animal Welfare

This is not just any dog.

This dog is a protector, a greeter, a friend, and a symbol of care for all the animals and people who come through the shelter’s doors.

Inspired by the mission of Oklahoma City Animal Welfare, the sculpture celebrates the important role animals play in our lives. Dogs bring loyalty, comfort, friendship, and protection — and this pup will stand proudly outside the shelter as a reminder of that special bond.

Inspired by Oklahoma, Wind, Nature, and Dogs

The sculpture is inspired by Oklahoma’s wide-open spaces, windy weather, and natural landscape.

Its wind-swept branch-like form will make it feel alive with movement, as if the wind is sculpting it’s shape. During the day, the rust-colored steel will give the dog a warm, earthy presence. At night, the sculpture will be illuminated, creating a memorable landmark for the shelter.

Let’s Pick a Name

Now comes the fun part: the community gets to help choose the name!

Cast your vote and help name this new Oklahoma City landmark. After all, every beloved dog needs a name — and the one chosen by the community will become the sculpture’s official title forever.

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. During this pivotal time, she created Stillness in Motion (2002) at the Center of Polish Sculpture—an influential work later featured in Sculpture Magazine (2003). This project marked her entry into the global environmental art discourse, establishing her as a leading voice in contemporary environmental art and outdoor site-responsive sculpture.

Ziemska’s work delves into humanity’s intrinsic connection to nature, engaging deeply with themes of ecology, biophilia, panpsychism, materiality, and identity. Her practice reinterprets humanity’s role in nature, shifting focus from human dominance to nature’s agency and interconnected systems. By dissolving the boundary between body and environment, her sculptures emphasize continuity and reciprocity rather than separation and control.

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. Some of her solo exhibitions include Of the Earth at the Morton Arboretum, SPOKE at the Franklin Park Conservatory, The Tree Told Me So… at the Church of St. Lawrence in the Czech Republic, and Mirror Matter at MOCA Cleveland. Her public art commissions, such as Cellular in the lobby of the Downtown Cleveland Westin Hotel and Feather Point in Thaddeus Kosciuszko Park, showcase her ability to merge natural and reclaimed materials with conceptual depth in public art. Notably, she is the first female artist represented in Dublin, Ohio’s multi-million-dollar public art collection and in Ortenstone Gardens outdoor sculpture collection in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Ziemska has participated in many prestigious international events, including the East Rift Valley Land Art Festival and the Taoyuan Land Art Festival in Taiwan, the Geumgang Nature Art Biennale in South Korea, 18+ Art & Music Festival in Romania, and the Contemporary Art Event in Nature at RespirArt Sculpture Park in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy. Her contributions have earned numerous accolades, including two Creative Workforce Fellowships and the Wendy L. Moore Emerging Artist Award from MOCA Cleveland. In 2018, the Ohio Arts Council recognized Ziemska as a Woman to Watch artist.

For more information about the artist and to view previous work, visit www.olgaziemska.com and follow the artist's latest projects at www.instagram.com/olgaziemskastudio/.