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Community Corner

Calling All Artists: Competition in New Rochelle

Theresa Kump Leghorn, Patch Mayor

      In 2000 New York City had its Cow Parade,
and in 2006  Larchmont followed suit,
with fiberglas ducks nesting all over its downtown. Now plans are afoot for New
Rochelle to be  visited by a swarm of
Fleur-de-Lis sculptures --  brightly
decorated, five-foot- tall fiberglas sculptures that will be installed in the
downtown area as part of the city’s 325th anniversary celebration.

    The New Rochelle Council on the Arts, the Downtown Business Improvement District and the City of New Rochelle will commission 10 to 15 artists to decorate pre-fabricated fiberglas Fleur- de-Lis sculptures as part of the celebration of the 325th anniversary of the settling of New Rochelle by the Huguenots. 

One artist (or artist team) will be selected for each free-standing

Fleur de-Lis. Artists age 16 and older are invited to submit their ideas by

September 1st; for an application form and complete instructions

visit www.newrochellearts.org.

     Organizers say the intent of the  project is to celebrate the city’s history by  showcasing local talent; they hope the sculptures will create a dialogue between artists and the local community,  enliven the downtown and delight visitors. “We are very excited to partner with the BID and the City of New Rochelle for the Fleur-de-Lis project,” said Judith Weber, President of NRCA. “The Fleur-de-Lis shape was chosen to represent the city’s French heritage, and we look forward to seeing what themes local artists bring to their interpretations.”
     The project continues the Art in Public Spaces Program initiated by the New Rochelle Council on the Arts (NRCA). The program’s first project was “Steal Away”, an outdoor  mural by Jeff Schlanger that was installed at the Lawton Street parking lot in 2008.  Other public art installations include banners in the atrium of the New Rochelle Public Library (the result of a design competition sponsored by NRCA); mosaic benches at the Ward Acres Community Garden, a collaborative project between NRCA and the garden group; and a collaboration this summer with the group Groundswell that will result in a wall mural painted by local teens.    

     Weber says that artists interested in the Fleur-de-Lis project are not

required to have any prior public art experience: They will be selected based

on their artistic excellence, innovation, creativity and originality; the

appropriateness of the materials they choose for an outdoor installation

intended to last two years; and the appropriateness and relevance of the style
and theme they propose as it relates to downtown New Rochelle and the city’s 
325th anniversary. A selection panel will determine the winning

designs and notify the artists, who will then each receive one of the 5-by-5

foot fiberglas forms to decorate. Selected artists will also receive an

honorarium of $300 to cover the costs of implementing their designs. The works are to be completed in October and will be installed at sites around downtown 
New Rochelle. Artists will be awarded their $300 honorariums upon the 
completion of the selected work.

Find out what's happening in New Rochellewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

     Serving on the selection panel are Judith Weber,  President of the New Rochelle Council on the Arts; Theresa Kump Leghorn, Vice President of the New Rochelle Council on the Arts; Billie Tucker, a member of the New Rochelle Municipal Arts Commission who also serves as Treasurer of the New Rochelle Council on the Arts; Luiz Aragon, Commissioner of Development for the City of New Rochelle; Ralph DiBart, Executive Director of the New Rochelle Downtown Business Improvement District; and Ivar Hyden, City Council member representing the downtown district.

     For an application form artists can visit 
the NRCA website at www.newrochellearts,org. For questions 
about the competition email info@newrochellearts.org.





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