Update: This project was cancelled due to a lack of funding.
Fayetteville trail users may soon enjoy a new art installation planned at the intersection of two of the city’s most popular trails.
City Council members will consider allowing longtime local sculptor Hank Kaminsky to install a 7-foot-tall sculpture at the Frisco and Scull Creek trail loop off Prospect Street just west of Wilson Park.
The tinted concrete sculpture is part of Kaminsky’s ongoing Sacred Ground Project, a collection of pieces featuring the words “You are Standing on Sacred Ground” in about 25 languages.
The sculpture would stand atop a six-inch concrete slab to be seen from both the trail and nearby roadway. In an application to alderman, Kaminsky said the proposed sculpture is designed to be tall, but not out of reach so as to invite trail users to touch the artwork, similar to his World Peace Prayer Fountain outside the entrance to the Fayetteville Town Center.
City documents
Funds for the estimated $12,500 trail sculpture would likely be raised privately through an online fundraising site like Kickstarter. Kaminsky said the sculpture would then be donated to the city.
Unlike the prayer fountain, which has required ongoing repair of its plumbing system through the years, Kaminsky said the “Sacred Ground” sculpture would not require any additional maintenance.
The project was recommended for approval earlier this month by the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and the Fayetteville Arts Council. The parks board must approve artwork that sits along a city trail. The arts council is required to sign off on any artwork that’s valued at more than $5,000 which sits on public property.
Aldermen are set to make a final vote of approval at the next regular City Council meeting on June 4.
If approved, the sculpture would become the second permanent art installation on the city’s trail system, joining the “City Fragments” sculpture which sits along Frisco Trail near the intersection of Center Street.
