SKOWHEGAN — Main Street Skowhegan and the Wesserunsett Arts Council have launched an open call for proposals to Kennebec on Fire, a public art sculpture project to be installed seasonally in the Kennebec River in Skowhegan. The submission deadline is Friday, Nov. 8.
The competitoin is o[en to Maine artists, and preference is given to local talent. The call is for the first sculpture of an installation that will ultimately include up to five sculptures.
The budget for the first sculpture, to be commissioned by the end of the year and completed by spring 2020, is $10,000. Artists may submit proposals for a complete installation of up to five sculptures with a maximum budget of $50,000, which would be completed over the next year and a half.
“We’re excited to be able to inject this kind of investment into our creative economy,” said project coordinator Mary Haley. The project is funded by a $75,000 grant from the Maine Arts Commission and a $10,000 grant from the Maine Community Foundation.
The sculptures, inspired by WaterFire in Providence, R.I., will each include a fire brazier that can be filled with wood and lit during festivals and other events. Mounted to floating bases, the sculptures will be installed in the Great Eddy, just below the gorge, in Skowhegan and be visible from Coburn Park and U.S. Route 2 on the north side and from recreational trails on the south side.
The first sculpture will be used as a prototype, with plans to install it in the river in the spring of 2020 before commissioning other sculptures.
“Installing floating sculptures in a river is a bit of novelty,” says Haley. “We’d like to work out any kinks with the first one before moving to the full installation.”
According to Haley, Kennebec on Fire is designed to use public art as a catalyst to foster a sense of place and stimulate tourism.
The project is derived from the Somerset County Rural Cultural Plan, which was led by WesArts and Main Street Skowhegan and completed in 2018. Ninety-five percent of respondents to the cultural plan’s survey said they are interested in experiencing the arts in nature, and 94 percent said growing tourism by promoting the region’s assets is important.
The full call for proposals can be viewed at WesArts.org/KOF. For more information or questions contact Mary Haley at Mary@MainStreetSkowhegan.org or 207-612-2571.
PHOTO: View of the Big Eddy in the Kennebec River from Skowhegan’s Coburn Park. (Submitted photo)
