New artwork and sculptures will be added to a popular Greenwood walking trail as part of a growing Art on the Trail program, which puts the spotlight on select artists from around the country in the city’s own backyard.
The Greenwood Parks and Recreation Department, which oversees the Polk Hill Trail where the art is installed, is asking the city’s Economic Development Commission for $10,000 for the Greater Greenwood Arts Council to lease four new art pieces for two years.
“It’s a great program. We’ve been doing it for eight years. Johnson County and the Greater Greenwood Arts Council do a great job. They’ve been very active,” said Rob Taggart, the city’s parks and recreation director. “I just thought it’d be a really good idea to get the EDC involved as well.”
The idea for the program came from Taggart, who worked with the arts council to come up with a plan to attract finished artwork from around the country to install in Greenwood.
A panel of professionals, including nearby artists, landscape architects and professors, will select the four new pieces, and each artist will be paid $3,000 for their work. The remaining costs, such as shipping their work and installing it, will come from the arts council’s budget, which includes money raised during its annual fundraiser, said Karen Wilkerson, arts council president.
The new artwork will be installed in April and May, depending on the weather and how long it takes the artwork to get to Greenwood. The deadline for submissions is March 1. The arts council is finalizing details of that process now, she said. Artists will be notified if their artwork is selected by March 15.
The arts council decided to extend the leases on current artwork because of all of the construction in Greenwood this year. In fact, part of the trail was closed for months. It is now reopen. Wilkerson said the artwork hasn’t yet gotten the exposure it deserves, and hopes that people will come check it out before it’s replaced next spring.
“We felt that there were a lot of people who missed out,” she said. “Now with the trail and Smith Valley reopened, people can get out and enjoy those — say goodbye to those pieces of art.”
The city is also getting ready to install two new signs to the Polk Hill Trail, to create gateways to the artwork. The 11-foot-tall signs will be placed at the east and west entrances to the 2-mile trail near downtown Greenwood. The signs will include the logos of sponsors of the Art on the Trail program.
