Altoona leaders seek ideas for new sculptures in River Prairie Park

Thursday, July 20, 2017
Camille Walter | WQOW

Altoona (WQOW) -

The park at River Prairie is almost completed, which means it's time to bring some artistic flair to the area.

On Thursday, officials from the City of Altoona met with local artists and sculptors to get ideas to create up to four sculptures in River Prairie Park.

The pedestals for the future artwork are already in and can be found at the head of the River Creek, which flows through the area.

The city wants the $100,000 artwork project to reflect the Chippewa Valley region.

"Things like family fun, tied to the environment and the land, having fun with your friends, health and fitness, those kind of themes," City Administrator Mike Golat said.

Given the recent sculpture thefts in Eau Claire, News 18 asked about security of the sculptures.

Golat said the sculptures should be secured once built because of multiple security cameras throughout the park.

Local area artists are hopeful to come together and create a unique piece together rather than only one individual artist completing the project.

"This is for all of the local artists to come out and showcase some of the work that they can do. Also there's so much talk about the collaboration piece, and I know that word that gets thrown around a lot, but I think it's really a powerful thing. That's kind of a new phenomenon and it's really being embraced here in the community," said Greg Johnson, a local artist and owner of Artisan Forge Studios.

Artists talked on Thursday with Golat and staff about using a variety of different mediums to complete the project, like electricity, sound and touch.

The City of Altoona hopes to have at least a start of the sculpture done by the time they have an opening party, which will be held at the park on September 30.

Anyone is allowed to propose their art ideas to the City of Altoona. The deadline for proposals is July 28.

Read more about this article »