Twenty sculptures line public plots on Charlottesville roads, a culmination of the city's effort to make art more publically accessible. The sculptures — 10 permanent structures and 10 placed for a one-year period — are hosted by ArtInPlace, a non-profit corporation which has been working since 2001.
Each year, ArtInPlace reaches out to artists who work independently or in collaborative groups through listservs and magazines, offering the opportunity to showcase their work to the public.
President and Manager Elizabeth Breeden said the idea behind the effort came out of a conversation in her kitchen.
“We had the idea at my kitchen table: it should be easy to put art on the streets of Charlottesville,” Breeden said. “When we started our idea was sculpture on the streets.”
The non-profit receives submissions from about 45 artists annually, with each artist submitting around three pieces. A jury consisting of ArtInPlace board members and three other individuals — a museum or art gallery representative, a professor and an artist — decides in July which 10 pieces will be installed. Pieces are placed throughout the city in October and removed in September of the following year.
“It’s an open call to artists, understanding [that] it’s public art on the streets of Charlottesville,” Breeden said. “Because of that, you’re looking at large obvious pieces — they tend to be metal. That’s the nature of what would happen if you’re doing a large piece that doesn’t cost artists a lot to make and to transport.”
Jim Gallucci, the artist who built the "Symphonic Gate" showcased on Preston Avenue, said he was inspired to participate in the ArtInPlace program because he was inspired by the impact art can have on viewers.
“Art is the physical manifestation of an idea or event that calls forth an emotional response from the viewer,” Gallucci’s website reads. “It speaks to us and evokes a chord deep within us. Good art challenges us, makes us feel righteous, moves us, soothes us, heals us and brings us peace.”
ArtInPlace is sponsored by Charlottesville City Council and has received considerable funding from the city since its formation. Breeden said the group receives $20,000 annually from the Percent for Art Fund for its sculpture program, which allows the group to pay the winning artists $1,000 upon receiving their sculpture and $500 following its removal.
Architecture Prof. Michael Bednar’s "Three Musketeers" sculpture is currently on display at Stadium Road and Jefferson Park Avenue. Bednar said he enjoys the opportunity to display his art in such a public setting.
“Charlottesville ArtInPlace is a wonderful opportunity to display my sculpture in a public venue,” Bednar said. “Public art is democratic in that anyone can see it at any time and react to it. All art must create a reaction — positive, negative or neutral.”
Breeden said the project does not aim to define the Charlottesville community, but rather it seeks to depict individual experiences. She said the sculptures are particularly intriguing because they are ephemeral, fleeting landmarks in the community.
ArtInPlace also hosts several two-dimensional pieces, including wall murals and highway landscapes.
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