UT Austin displays about 50 modern and historic artworks through Landmarks program on campus

February 18, 2026

The University of Texas at Austin now hosts roughly 50 modern and historic works through its Landmarks public art program, with pieces placed around key quadrangles and buildings. Installations range from Nancy Rubins's large-scale sculpture Monochrome for Austin, located near the Norman Hackerman Building, to James Turrell's immersive piece, The Color Inside.

Landmarks began after the university adopted an Art in Public Spaces policy that devotes between 1 and 2 percent of capital improvement budgets to public art. The program launched in 2008, bringing an initial set of 28 sculptures on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and has expanded its collection since then.

An Phung, digital content coordinator at Landmarks, says the program weighs several practical and conceptual factors when selecting work. Staff assess whether an artwork physically fits a site, review an artist's existing body of work, and consider how the themes in a piece will relate to the location and campus community.

Phung adds that well-placed, accessible art is meant to interrupt a busy day and invite curiosity, not to be merely decorative. Bringing prominent contemporary artists to campus, she said, can also boost appreciation for the university's role in supporting the arts and create moments for students to pause and reflect.

Alongside contemporary pieces, historic statues on campus underscore longstanding values and alumni achievements. Charles Umlauf's The Torchbearers depicts one runner passing a torch to another, a visual metaphor for knowledge and collaboration, while Bruce Wolfe's 2009 sculpture of Barbara Jordan frames her as a figure who challenges viewers to act and continue her legacy.

Chase Cobb, an academic program coordinator at the Environmental Science Institute who leads art tours, notes that encountering art in different formats can provoke creativity and prompt reflection on identity and culture beyond the classroom. Student organizers echo that sentiment: Abigail Norris, a biology sophomore and president of the Street Art Muralist Organization, says murals and public works help build community because they occupy prominent, shared spaces.

Many students pass campus artworks without noticing them, staff and students say, but taking a moment to read an artwork's description or engage with it can strengthen a sense of belonging at the university. Landmarks' mix of temporary and permanent pieces continues to shape how people move through and imagine UT Austin's campus.