Downtown Lee’s Summit’s food, drink, retail and entertainment scene has absolutely burst to life over the past decade. Along with new restaurants, pubs and shops has come a visually stimulating component: public art.
Feeding on the resurgence of downtown, the City of Lee’s Summit, Lee’s Summit Arts Council and Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street teamed up in 2020 to launch the Downtown Sculpture Walk. That first installation - launched as the COVID-19 pandemic was shutting down performances, concerts and exhibits in the late spring of 2020 - included a raptor in front of the Lee’s Summit Fire Department headquarters on Douglas Street, a feather near the Lee’s Summit Historical Museum and what became a popular photo stop, the tri-colored popsicle at City Hall Plaza.
The City of Lee’s Summit’s first-ever Cultural Arts Manager, Glenda Masters, said work began on the concept and execution of the sculpture walk a full year before it launched, with members of the arts council, downtown and Public Works staff identifying areas and corners of downtown that would lend to high traffic, visibility and display of the rotating public art pieces.
“The primary reasons the city created the cultural arts division were to bring more opportunities and experiences to the community, so we wanted to explore how we could accomplish that,” Masters said. “From my experience working with other municipalities, a rotating public art program is a great way to integrate art into the community. And to encourage people to take notice of public art and the walkability of downtown as well.”
Like any good downtown initiative, the arts leaders looked at other communities that had led the way in public art for best practices, timelines and work plans. Each year, the organizations hold a call-for-artists and, once selected, the artist is granted a stipend and has their piece displayed on the Sculpture Walk.
Local and national artists from Remy Norton-Hood, an artist and metal worker at Fossil Forge Design to Craig Gray of Key West, Florida (Popsicles) to Des Moines-area and Belgium-born artist Hilde DeBruyne (Metamorphosis) have been featured on the Sculpture Walk.
The current 2021 selections include: “Metamorphosis” (artist Hilde DeBruyne, 4th & SE Main), “Borbor 9” (artist Will Vannerson, City Hall Plaza), “Silica Rose” (artist Jay Lockett, 3rd & Green), “Campana” (artist Joe Alred, in front of Third Street Social), “To Bee or Not to Bee” (artist Alex Mendez, Lee’s Summit Historical Museum, “Fire Dancer” (artist Jodie Bliss, Lee’s Summit Fire Station #2), “Patches” (artist Vince Houston, 4th & SE Main), “Wired” (artist Jack Bordnick, 3rd & SW Main), “Here Comes the Sunset” (artist Ben Piece, 3rd & SW Market) and “Heart of Downtown” (artist Remy Norton-Hood, 3rd & Douglas).
The Sculpture Walk has added another layer to a central business district that has seen exponentially increased traffic and attention in recent years.
"The Downtown Sculpture Walk builds upon downtown as a destination for our residents and visitors that evolves and changes,” DLSMS Executive Director Donnie Rodgers said. “It gives them another activity to enjoy when they visit downtown and helps to build a stronger sense of pride and connection to the heart of our community.”
Masters said the reception has been overwhelmingly optimistic.
“We’ve received a lot of really positive feedback and a lot of comments from folks saying they appreciate the city and downtown putting public art into the community,” Masters said, adding that some notable artists have been juried and selected for the Sculpture Walk.
DeBruyne comes from a family of accomplished artists, including her father, also a sculptor. “Metamorphosis” comes from a series of abstract pieces that represent the life-cycle of the monarch butterfly. And Kansas City-area artist Jay Lockett is the first African-American artist (“Silica Rose”) featured on the Sculpture Walk.
The sculptures will change again in 2022, as the current call-for-artists has been made and the jury will select the new batch of public art pieces.
Visitors to downtown Lee’s Summit can access the Downtown Sculpture Walk on the Otocast mobile audio guide, an app downloadable from any smartphone or device. The GPS-based service allows walkers to start the Sculpture Walk at any of the installations and listen to their stories, including recordings from the artists themselves.
“We expect it to grow over time and we definitely would love the opportunity to bring more temporary and permanent public art to downtown and Lee’s Summit,” Masters said. “We’re just getting started.”
For more information on the downtown Lee’s Summit Sculpture Walk, visit cityofls.net/cultural-arts/public-art.