Art Installation at Vista Canyon

September 26, 2022

As construction on the Metrolink Station continues, Vista Canyon is thrilled to welcome artist James Dinh to install a featured art piece in the station. A committee formed by the City of Santa Clarita chose Dinh’s proposed installation after an extensive evaluation and selection process to both honor the history of the site and serve as inspiration for the future.

The Station is near the site of a significant event in California history: the “wedding of the rails” in 1876. At the time, Los Angeles was an isolated outpost accessible only by ship and wagon until a ceremonial golden spike joined the Southern Pacific and Central Pacific railroad tracks together just east of the Vista Canyon Multi-Modal Center site. In particular, Chinese rail workers who built the transcontinental railway combined forces on this project to tunnel through the mountain and extend the railway system we now see today. 

The artwork throughout the station will explore themes relating to this event. Three historic plaques will be relocated to the station within sight of the artwork as well. One is a State Historic Landmark, the second memorializes the contributions of Chinese rail workers and the third marks the site of the golden spike ceremony.

The chosen installation also evokes these three themes. Using iron materials that reflect railways and form the silhouette of the mountain range, Dinh pays homage to the grueling tunneling and creation of the railway system. With photos curated from historic archives, the artwork will be a standing reminder of the significance of the site to commuters, visitors and passersby alike. Dinh designed each element of the installation with a purpose and his vision beautifully dovetails with the work of Vista Canyon to create a singularly accessible community. 

Dinh leads StudioFolia, a multidisciplinary studio in LA. Focused on landscape architecture and public art, Dinh has deep experience in designing exhibits worth displaying for places worth visiting. Prior to developing StudioFolia, Dinh studied and received his Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences from UC Irvine, Master of Public Health and Master’s in Landscape Architecture, with a concentration in epidemiology from University of California Berkeley. This education laid the foundation for and informs his holistic approach to design throughout his work.

The installation is estimated to be completed in the 1st Quarter of 2023 when we will look forward to the public reveal and to welcoming the community to experience the new station.

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