Artists, sponsors sought for public arts project
Birds will soar from downtown lamp poles this summer as the next generation of the Whitewater Arts Alliance Public Arts Project lands in downtown Whitewater and artists and sponsors are needed.
After 10 years of public art on the lamp poles the organizers said they needed a break, but this year the “new and improved” version will be back with birds catching the eyes of passersby and decorating the downtown.
The procedure will be a little different including the end-of-event auction to raise money for the WAA now being replaced by up-front sponsorships of the art. WAA is soliciting $100 sponsors for each piece in advance. This is a tax-deductible gift and the sponsors will be recognized in the brochure along with the artists.
Anyone can be a sponsor, from individuals to groups to businesses and forms are available at the Cultural Arts Center, at GMA Printing, 136 W. Main Street, or by contacting Linda Long at (262) 473-5538.
Artists may pick up the wooden bird forms at the GMA Printing, call Linda Long at (262) 473-5538 or Roni Telfer at (920) 728-1777, or message the Whitewater Arts Alliance via Facebook.
The lamp pole art project began 11 years ago as a fund-raiser for the work of the Whitewater Arts Alliance and that part remains. The artists will still create the artworks from a template. This year there will be five different types of bird templates as options – an owl, a hawk, a pair of songbirds, a crested bird and a swift.
The art will grace the downtown from May to early September and then be on display in the CAC where the public will have a chance to purchase their favorite pieces via a silent auction. Artists who want to get their own bird back in the fall can do so by paying $10 when they pick up the form.
