Sculpture Walk in place in downtown Springfield

Moderate temperatures, gentle breezes, long days and until next month, no new art exhibits opening around town. What a perfect time to get out and take a walk—a sculpture walk.

Sculpture Walk Springfield, a new venture around downtown, features 12 sculptures spread out over a number of city blocks but all contained within walking distance of one another. Sculpture Walk Director Nicole Brown and organizer Meganne Rosen are both enthusiastic about what they hope will be the latest of Springfield’s art traditions.

The idea began three or four years ago, Rosen said, when a group of people came to the Springfield Regional Arts Council. They had been to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where there was a sculpture walk in place.

“They thought it was a really cool idea,” she said. At first, there was some talk about trying to get some of the same work moved here, but in the end, Springfield decided to start from scratch.

“We wanted our own identity,” Rosen added.

Last year, Assistant Public Works Director Jonathan Gano created a small sculpture walk in Jubilee Park as “kind of a test to see how it would work in downtown Springfield,” Rosen said. “But this is a separate, nonprofit entity.”

Gano, who has since moved to Des Moines, was also responsible for discovering the original intent of Aris Demetrios, sculptor of the Tumbler sculpture on Park Central Square. Although the sculpture had been in place for some years, Gano found information that Demetrios wanted it rotated on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, Brown heard about the idea of beginning an annual sculpture installation around the city and wanted to be part of it. Today, she serves as director of the project. “I’m really excited,” she said. “It could have a pretty big impact on economic development.”

Basically, the idea is that the organization finds sponsors for the sculptures and sets them up, either at the sponsors’ businesses or in public locations. For example, there’s a large red female nude by Joan Benefiel at Springfield Brewing Company as well as two pieces, one by local sculptor Nick Willet and the other by Domenico Belli, on Park Central Square.

Not all works are by area artists; in fact, most are not. The organization encourages both corporations and individuals to purchase pieces (all are for sale) and continue to display them. Then next year, another series of sculptures will put in place for Sculpture Walk proper, with hopes that some of this year’s pieces will still be on display, and the city’s public sculpture collection will grow every year.

“When I think of public sculptures, I think of a larger, more metropolitan area,” Rosen said. “One of the best things about Sculpture Walk Springfield is bringing large-scale work to the community and putting it outside so everyone can see it.

“I’m thrilled to see the quality of the work,” she added. “It’s a museum without walls, with art for everyone.”'

WANT TO GO?

What: “Sculpture Walk Springfield,” an exhibit of a dozen sculptures around downtown

When: For the next year

Where: Download a map or pick up a printed copy at the Creamery Arts Center, 411 N. Sherman Parkway