VIDA San Antonio is celebrating a new public art installation located at the trailhead to the Madla Greenway along Mitra Way. Designed by artist Leticia Huerta, “The Rose Garden” reflects a “coming home” for the nationally acclaimed Southside native.
The community will celebrate the unveiling of the sculpture during a special event with the artist on Thursday, Nov. 5, from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m. The event will bring together VIDA homeowners, community leaders, members of San Antonio’s arts community and partners from University Health and Texas A&M University-San Antonio. Huerta will be in attendance, joined by leaders from Southstar, developer of VIDA.
“The Rose Garden” features three towering steel yellow, pink and white roses in bloom. Huerta described her inspiration from a familiar childhood scene.
“It’s really a memory of growing up in San Antonio on the Southside,” Huerta said. “Families planted roses outside their homes. Our next-door neighbor had rows and rows of yellow roses in her yard. It always felt so welcoming. She carefully tended them, and brought them to neighbors who were sick or celebrating a new baby or special event. That nurturing and gracious spirit really captures how I remember growing up in the Southside. It was warm, friendly and always about caring for each other.”
When designing the sculpture, Huerta said, “The tall beautiful roses are shooting out of the earth, showing they have been cared for. People continue to take care of each other on the Southside. And that Southside pride continues to flourish.”
VIDA commissioned the piece to be the second installation in their public art series. The 600-acre community gained inspiration from the extensive local art collection at neighboring Texas A&M University-San Antonio and through University Health’s SaludArte: Art of Healing program currently at the VIDA Health Clinic and planned for the Palo Alto Hospital opening in 2027.
“Southstar worked with San Antonio’s Department of Arts and Culture to create a model that shows private developers how to add public art into their communities. It is our signature here in San Antonio, and we’re proud to include it in our communities,” said Gretchen Howell, Chief Operating Officer of Southstar, developer of VIDA. “This is novel for real estate developers and we’re proud of the work we did to deliver it.”
The community welcomed its first public art installation in 2024, “It Takes All Kinds,” a climbable sculpture by Autumn and Simon Saleh of Wanderlust Ironworks. When VIDA approached Huerta about a new art piece, she remembered her neighbor’s gardens and began to sketch three vibrant wild roses. With each project, Huerta says she always thinks, “This could’ve been bigger,” so she went large with VIDA’s floral sculptures, which are now among the largest of her projects.
“They catch your attention because they’re so big that you go, ‘Wait, what is that?’” Huerta said. “VIDA’s (sculptures) are fabricated with metal—I love that idea of marrying the future and the past that’s always been here. A look to the future, and with the development that’s happening on the Southside, it’s a nice kind of marker for that. This is a new beginning, and yet we have our past to draw from.”
Referencing Huerta’s iconic “Bloom” floral sculptures located in parks and trails across San Antonio, “The Rose Garden” welcomes visitors at the entryway to the Madla Greenway, the beautiful natural trail system that winds through the VIDA community. The public trail system has become a beloved sanctuary in the region as TAMU-San Antonio students utilize the Madla as a “living lab,” healthcare workers stretch their legs during breaks at the University Health VIDA clinic, and VIDA homeowners enjoy connecting with nature steps from home.
Public art is central to San Antonio’s cultural landscape, yet it had never before been integrated into a new residential community. VIDA has long celebrated the Southside’s creative spirit, naming streets throughout the community after local artists, dancers, chefs, poets and other cultural figures who helped shape San Antonio’s identity. The addition of public art installations like “It Takes All Kinds” and “The Rose Garden” further distinguishes VIDA, serving as both a tribute to Huerta’s Southside roots and a lasting expression of the community’s commitment to art, culture and place.
Huerta discussed the importance of making public art accessible: “The projects I did in other spaces and here in San Antonio—transit centers, parks—there are places a lot of people gather that wouldn’t always have public art. That is really important because it gets younger people thinking, ‘What is this? Why is this here?’ It inspires them. Even if they never become artists, they can appreciate it and learn to create art that they enjoy. All of that is important, and public art puts that forward because you see it all around you.”
When asked what she hoped homeowners and visitors would feel when they see “The Rose Garden,” Huerta said: “A sense of peace and calm. Coming home from work, it’s like, ‘Ah, I’m home!’ And hopefully looking at them will give you that feeling that you’re home. And if you’re about to walk or ride your bike (at the Madla Greenway), you’re about to enter nature and enjoy. It’s releasing the tension of the day.”
With “The Rose Garden,” VIDA is helping write the next chapter of San Antonio’s public art story on the Southside. The sculpture welcomes residents and visitors alike at the Madla Greenway trailhead along Mitra Way near the community entrance. As it grows, the Greenway will provide a scenic two-mile trail loop and connections to neighboring pathways, including Texas A&M University-San Antonio.