Release the Fear sculpture made from confiscated weapons stands in downtown Phoenix

Release the Fear, a 7.3-meter (about 24-foot) sculpture made from 3,600 kilograms (about 7,900 pounds) of metal recovered from confiscated weapons used in violent acts across Arizona, stands at Roosevelt Street and Central Avenue in downtown Phoenix. The piece, created by local artist Robert John Miley, was erected in 2005 on land donated by the City of Phoenix.

Miley spent more than a decade raising funds and collecting materials for the work, which depicts a man raising his arms to the sky. The artist’s community-awareness program, Melt the Guns, uses the sculpture as its logo, and the work was described at the site as promoting the power of education and the arts to combat violence.

The structure’s materials were identified as originating from firearms confiscated across Arizona and used in violent incidents; the city provided the location where the sculpture stands. No formal actions or policy changes regarding the artwork were recorded in the meeting transcript.