It started with 10.
In 2021, the first iteration of the Augusta Sculpture Trail was installed downtown. On Jan. 31, the last of the newest sculptures for the third iteration were installed along the Savannah River.
“We get artists from all over,” said Heather Dunaway, gallery and public art director for the Greater Augusta Arts Council. “It elevates Augusta in a way that makes artists here want to stay and contribute. All around, it’s a really neat project.”
The first 10 were designed to stay for only two years unless someone purchased them. The rest would rotate out and a new set of 10 to follow the same pattern.
So far, seven have stayed including Popsicles and Book Bench by Craig Gray, Unstoppable and Without Limits by Gus & Lina Ocamposilva; Maestro/Forever Young by Larry Schueckler, Sun Lion by D’jean Jawrunner and Ruthless by Flaminio Antonio.
Also, the family of the late sculptor/welder Roger Finch donated his Tropical Dream to the trail to bring the total to 18.
New sculptures include Hearts at Play by Melinda Hoffman of Mauldin, South Carolina; Nitrogenous by Hannah Jubran of Grimesland, North Carolina; Crescendo by Sam Spiczka of Apex, North Carolina; Lotus Blossom by Beau Lyday, Valdese, North Carolina; Bicycle Built for Two by Jim Collins of Signal Mountain, Tennessee; Zephyrusby Jorge Blanco of Sarasota, Florida; Dance of Light by Wenxia Zhang of Suwanee, Georgia; Plumera Sculptura by Kirk Seese of Lutherville, Maryland; Pale Fire by Joe Schairer of Wallingford, Connecticut; and The Flame by Przemyslaw Kordys of Augusta.
Kordys, whose work has been featured around the world, created an abstract design called The Flame which is on the lower level of Riverwalk. From the Savannah River vantage point, River Place condominiums are in the background.
“The mold I did for a client about a year ago. It was a dark bronze. I liked it,” he said.
Read more: Kordys’ heron sculpture finds home at Phinizy Swamp
But for the Sculpture Trail piece he wanted it to have a different finish and used the color palette of the nearby River Place Condominiums as inspiration.
He’s added a rust activator to the base and the sculpture itself has a worn copper patina look reflective of the turquoise hues in the building’s roof.
Arts council executives have long wanted items such as the Sculpture Trail as a way to help with draw arts lovers from other parts of the country.
Each of the sculptures will be part of an app called Otocast which users can find out more about the sculptures.
As sculptures were being installed, Dunaway said she met some out-of-town guests.
“They said ‘we use Otocast in our city for our sculpture trail, and it’s really fun to see a continuation of it in other places. They said it added to their walk and made them want to get out and explore,” she said.
That can encourage people to find restaurants or other shops. And it encourages people to be tourists in their own hometowns.
A ribbon cutting will be held later in the spring.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years and is a Georgia Press Association award winner. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
