BY RYAN VALENTINE
Sculpture Walk transforms Peoria’s Warehouse District
PEORIA –
Arts Partners of Central Illinois is currently hosting “Sculpture Walk Peoria” along Washington Street in the Warehouse District in Peoria, Ill. Sculpture Walk brings 15 large scale sculptures that were crafted by 15 artists from seven different states.
Joe Richey, business head of Tri-City Machine Products here in the city of Peoria, put in the effort to get ball rolling on bringing a sculpture walk to his beloved city. Plans to make this happen initially started in 2007. In June of 2015, Sculpture Walk finally became a reality when the sculptures were put out on the street. As it turns out, Sculpture Walk seems to be having a good turnout.
Each of the 15 sculptures that were created are available to be purchased. Made from all sorts of different materials such as stainless steel, epoxy resin or stoneware clay, each sculpture has something unique to offer and see. Two of the sculptures have already been bought, one of them being “Phenomenon” which sold for $19,200. All of the sculptures range in price between $7,500-$22,000.
During the walk, you will be exposed to a variety of pieces that make them special in their own right. The first sculpture on the list that you would see, titled “Living Sculpture,” is a piece crafted by artist Jason Verbeek. This fourteen-foot steel shell holds sedum plants of different species and colors. “Daughter of the Moon” is the eleventh sculpture created by Robert Pulley which weighs a whopping 1600 pounds. The last sculpture of the walk was designed by Nathan Pierce called “Don’t Forget Us,” which towers at 14 feet by 7 feet and is made with red epoxy painted structural steel.
Kenny Delaney, Administrative Assistant at Arts Partners, provided some insight on the event and its origins.
“Joe Richey previously attended a sculpture walk in a different state,” Delaney said. “Since then, he always wanted to bring that aspect to Peoria.
Delaney iterated how the location of Peoria was perfect for an event like this.
“The downtown renovation Peoria has gone through makes it a great way to include these pieces of art. We encourage everyone in the community to come out and take a look at what these artists have to offer,” Delaney said.
When asked about the success of the event, Delaney said that there is no specific way to gauge attendance numbers. However, the Sculpture Walk does a poll called ‘People’s Choice Awards’ which has the visitors pick their favorite sculpture.
“People’s Choice Awards gives the public a way to react to any of the sculptures they saw during their walk,” Delaney said. People who participated will get to see who had the most popular sculpture after the votes have been tallied. Voting ends on Sept. 30.
According to Delaney, Sculpture Walk is its own ‘thing’ that works directly with Arts Partners. Sculpture Walk will stay on Washington Street until the end of next May 2016.
Follow this link to see a map of the Sculpture Walk for the locations of each individual sculpture: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zVX1lWdlmO1s.kJgavCxu498E&usp=sharing
Concentricity
Daughter of the Moon
Don’t Forget Us
Eternal Flame
Foxglove & Fists
Fragmentary Composition
Living Sculpture
Moment
Phenomenon
Poise
Prairie Walker
Solstice, Galatic Spiral
Spanish Dancer
Hard Right Turn: Sparrow
Swans of the Marsh