Community Bench: State College Area – Farm Animals

 

Artist: Elody Gyekis and Community

Location: Sidney Friedman Park, 241 South Fraser Street, State College, 16801

 

The community benches are based on themes generated at the community meetings that were not covered by other artists. Though State College is not perhaps the most farm-filled of the Centre County Areas, one of the themes discussed at all of the meetings including the State College meeting, was how much we all love the farm animals here: The cows and horses especially, but also all the other barnyard animals. Though we had many benches that included aspects of farming, there were not enough farm animals! This bench shows a local barn and cows, a horse, a goat, a rooster, hen and chicks, a dog, a kitten, and a piglet.

 

State College Area School District Art Teachers, led by the Middle School Art Teachers, their students and community members came together to paint this bench.  Mount Nittany Middle School hosted the event in their Art Room.

  

“Of all of the Public Art Projects I have helped bring to fruition, this has been the most expansive in reach and most logistically complex. It has been a real pleasure working with my incredible partner in the project, Ann Walker, all of the artists who created proposals and painted benches, all of the community members who leant their hearts and minds to the idea building process and all of the community members who showed up and helped to paint the community benches. (Ann Walker asked me to help direct the project!)”

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