SPRINGDALE -- Officials and community leaders have begun formulating ideas about an interactive sculpture park downtown.
All of the ideas are preliminary, said Mike Gilbert, chief operating officer for The Jones Center.
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"We're in the early infancy stages," he said.
Center staff, city officials and community leaders have discussed the possible sculpture park being located on property owned by The Jones Trust. The 1.45-acre property at 509 E. Allen Ave. is next to Luther George Grove Street Park and Spring Creek, said Ed Clifford, chief operating officer of The Jones Center and Jones Trust. It's also near the Razorback Greenway.
Four structures on the property The Jones Center uses for storage would have to be removed, Gilbert said. Officials also would also like as much as possible of Grove Avenue, South Water Street and East Allen Avenue to be removed for green space.
Gilbert said they envision the sculpture park as an expansion to Luther George Grove Street Park. The idea is to bring in artists to do residencies and also give them stipends. While here, the artists would create sculptures on site at the park and hold workshops for other artists. Northweset Arknasas artists would also have an opportunity to have their sculptures on display.
Planners would like for the art to be interactive, Gilbert said. Some pieces may be protected with fencing or barriers, but there would be others children could climb on, he said.
An arts council would also be needed for curating the artwork, Gilbert said. This probably wouldn't be managed by the city or the center.
Staff with the center presented the concept to The Jones Trust board, Gilbert said. The board agreed to continue discussions about it with the city.
Gilbert said he thinks Alderwoman Kathy Jaycox came up with the idea for the sculpture park.
Jaycox said she became interested after having a conversation with a friend who had just visited Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis. She told Jaycox about the park and she thought it would be a good idea for Springdale.
Jaycox also said officials would like to place more sculptures along the greenway in Springdale.
Gilbert said they want development of the sculpture park to be part of the downtown plan process, which was launched at an event at the Arts Center of the Ozarks on July 21. The Downtown Springdale Initiative, a combination of city officials, Downtown Springdale Alliance officials and stakeholders, is working with H3 Studio on the plan.
H3 Studio is an interdisciplinary design and planning firm, according to a description provided by the company.
Jonathan Perrodin, co-founder of Team Springdale, said the group is helping with the plan process. He also said he and his wife, Amber Perrodin, co-founder of Team Springdale, have been involved in discussions about the possible sculpture park.
Jonathan Perrodin said the goal is for the master plan to be finished and approved by the City Council by early 2016. The sculpture park would be within the geographic boundaries used for this plan.
Gilbert explained a downtown area needs "feet on the street," which leads to a need for things to do.
"Our thinking is it's another amenity in downtown Springdale," he said.
Jaycox said the sculpture park could help cross-cultural barriers in the Springdale community through art. Jonathan Perrodin said the sculpture park could add to the richness of people's cultural experience.
Gilbert said he hopes to have a group of people meeting regularly to work on plans for the park by next spring.
"For it to become a reality is probably a couple years away," he said.
NW News on 08/14/2015