The sculptures are coming, the sculptures are coming!
By Contributor
Get your Sculpturewalking shoes ready! On Saturday, 35 sculptures will be landing in Castlegar’s downtown, marking the biggest year ever of the internationally-renowned Castlegar Sculpturewalk.
2018 also marks some exciting new changes: a new sponsorship program offering tiered levels of support, a revamped and expanded brochure with a print run of 10,000, and a new Sculpture Garden area beside the library showcasing smaller pieces. With more than 40 local businesses and individuals supporting the program in 2018, and a record number of sculpture sales and leases (up 100 per cent from just three years ago), Sculpturewalk is moving from success to success.
The community’s vision and commitment has enabled Sculpturewalk to bring more than 200 incredible works of art to Castlegar, discover both emerging, home-grown talent and welcome established artists from abroad, and has proven to be a huge draw to tourists, who return each year to see the new artwork. Sculpturewalk is the most reviewed and #1 rated local attraction on TripAdvisor, and in the top ten percent of all attractions in the entire Kootenay Rockies Region.
“We couldn’t run this program without the generous support from the City of Castlegar,the Regional District (Area J & Affected Area J), the Columbia Basin Trust, the province of British Columbia, our business sponsors and supporters, and of course the residents of Castlegar and the region,” says Executive Director Joy Barrett. “There aren’t many cities this size – or any size – that have created such a well-respected and much-loved public art program in such a short period of time, and we are incredibly grateful that the community has embraced this program so wholeheartedly.”
The incoming sculptures will be installed on Saturday, May 5 and will stay in place until April of 2019. Voting for the People’s Choice Award will be open from May until September. Ballots will be available along the Sculpturewalk route, at City Hall, the Kootenay Gallery, and the Castlegar & District Chamber of Commerce.
