PUBLIC INVITED TO SHARE INPUT ON CIRCLE DRIVE SCULPTURE CONTEST
Five Wisconsin-based artists have been selected as finalists, and they have created maquettes of their sculptural designs. Throughout the summer, the public will have opportunities to share their input as the maquettes tour to area businesses, organizations, and events. Upcoming locations include Fields Jaguar Land Rover Volvo Waukesha on Saturday, July 11; Elmbrook Schools’ 2015 Summer Learning Adventures the week of July 13, San Camillo Retirement Community the week of July 21; and Brookfield Public Library the week of July 27. The maquettes also will be on display at the Wilson Center for each of the free outdoor Starry Nights Series concerts on Fridays at 6:30 p.m. Starry Nights 2015 kicked off with former BoDeans member Sam Llanas on June 26, and will continue with The BriTins on July 10, Above the Town on July 17, Valley of the Dolls on July 24, Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound on July 31, and the Wilson Center Big Band with Jenny Thiel on August 7. In addition, the public may view images of the maquettes and share their input online at wilson-center.com/public-input.
The Circle Drive Sculpture Contest kicked off in the fall of 2014 with a call to Wisconsin artists. From the 40 artists who submitted sculpture designs, finalists Ray Chi, Joshua Hunt, Don Rambadt, Andrew Redington, and Nizar Schaller (“Flit” maquette pictured above) were selected this spring by a jury that included independent curator, art historian, and author and former Associate Curator of the Haggerty Museum of Art Dr. Annemarie Sawkins; Assistant Director of the Tory Folliard Gallery Christine Anderson; and professional artist and Professor of Sculpture at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee John Balsley.
The public input process for the Contest will close this August; results will be considered along with the opinions of the jury and weighed with organizational factors in the final decision. The Circle Drive Sculpture Contest winner will be announced at the Wilson Center’s 10th anniversary Hidden River Art Festival taking place September 19-20, 2015. Anticipated installation for the Soerens Circle Drive Sculpture is June, 2016.
“The Wilson Center’s Circle Drive Sculpture Contest marked the beginning of a remarkable project to expand sculpture works throughout Brookfield's Mitchell Park, which will make it a destination for visual art experiences,” said Wilson Center President and CEO Jonathan Winkle. “The vision of ArtsPark feels closer to reality as we consider the first set of maquettes for our inaugural sculpture.”
Two more calls to Wisconsin artists will take place this year—one in July and one in September—that will also involve a public input selection process. By the end of 2016, a total of six sculptures will be installed in ArtsPark: the Soerens Circle Drive sculpture, plus five others that may be interactive, botanical, or ephemeral works of art.
To learn more about the Circle Drive Sculpture Contest or Lynn Chappy ArtsPark, contact ArtsPark Project Coordinator Margie Heyworth at mheyworth@wilson-center.com or visit wilson-center.com/artspark. Lynn Chappy ArtsPark is sponsored by Lynn Chappy and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Photos of all five maquettes and artist biographies are available upon request.
About Lynn Chappy ArtsPark
Lynn Chappy ArtsPark is a central component of the Wilson Center's multiphase, strategic initiative to extend the arts beyond the walls of the Center, uniting nature and art in inspiring ways for its visitors. ArtsPark is a free, interactive sculpture garden, located in the City of Brookfield's Mitchell Park-a 405-acre community space with wetlands, woodlands, and outdoor recreation facilities along the Fox River. Made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts' Our Town grant awarded to the Wilson Center in 2014, as well as support from the City of Brookfield and Lynn Chappy, ArtsPark will feature numerous non-traditional works of art with educational activities including docent-led tours, field trip opportunities, and artist talks. Caerulean Collaborative Design, headed by Gerould Wilhelm and Margot Mazur, was contracted to guide the process of creating the plan for the new park. This multi-faceted group of artists—a landscape architect, a botanist, a plants specialist, and a lighting specialist—were teamed with representatives from the community and the Wilson Center to create a master landscaping plan that will guide and direct ArtsPark planning and its multiple phases of development over the next 10+ years. To learn more, visit wilson-center.com/artspark.
About the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts
The Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary cultural arts center that presents performances by world-renowned artists and ensembles, offers arts education opportunities, and curates the Ploch Art Gallery, which features both national and Wisconsin-based fine artists. In August, the annual Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival celebrates the world’s leading classical, rock/blues, jazz, and fingerstyle guitarists. Wisconsin fine artists are showcased at the Hidden River Art Festival each September. The Wilson Center nurtures lifelong learning through innovative programs and classes for all interests, ages, and abilities in state-of-the-art studios and classrooms. Some of Southeast Wisconsin’s finest arts organizations offer professional instruction at the Wilson Center, including First Stage Theater Academy and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. The Wilson Center is just minutes west of Milwaukee, located in Brookfield’s Mitchell Park off of Capitol Drive, just west of Brookfield Road. For information about the Wilson Center, call 262-781-9470 or visit wilson-center.com.
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