3 Finalists for 2019 Sculpture at the River Market public monument competition; winner to be announced this afternoon

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The winner of a $60,000 commission to place a sculpture at Little Rock City Hall in 2020 will be announced on Sunday, May 5, 2019, as the 11th Sculpture at the River Market Show and Sale concludes.

The three semifinalists for the 2019 Sculpture at the River Market Public Monument Competition were announced Friday night at the conclusion of Sculptacular, the preview party for the 2019 Sculpture at the River Market Show and Sale. The three finalists are, alphabetical order:

  • Theresa Dyer – LITTLE ROCK
  • Nnamdi Okonkwo – UNITY
  • Charles Strain – THE GATHERING

Sculpture at the River Market invited all artists participating in the 2019 Show & Sale to submit a proposal for its $60,000 Public Monument Competition. This is the ninth such competition.

The proposals of the seven semifinalists were displayed during Sculptacular, the event’s preview party on the evening of May 3, and Preview Party guests voted for their 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice.  All votes were tallied and the top three finalists were announced at the end of the evening.

The top three proposals will be juried on May 4 and 5, and the 2019 winner will be announced at 3PM on Sunday, May 5.  The winning sculpture will be installed at the northwest corner of Markham Street and Broadway Street adjacent to Little Rock City Hall in the spring of 2020.

The other semifinalists were: Clay Enoch, Joe Norman, Ryan T. Schmidt, and Basil Barrington Watson.

Previous Public Monument Competition winners have been:

  • 2011 – Chapel, THE CENTER installed in Riverfront Park near the Junction Bridge
  • 2012 – Bryan Massey, Sr.,  NAUTILUS installed in Riverfront Park next to the Arkansas River near the Margaret Clark Adventure Park.
  • 2013 – Ted Schaal, OPEN WINDOW installed in Riverfront Park between the First Security Amphitheatre and La Petite Roche Plaza.
  • 2014 – Lorri Acott, PEACE installed at 2nd Street and Main Street
  • 2015 – Michael Warrick, MOCKINGBIRD TREE installed at Chenal Parkway and Chenal Valley Drive
  • 2016 – Clay Enoch, UNITED installed at Central High School
  • 2017 – Stephen Shachtman, ARKANSAS “A” installed at the Southwest Community Center
  • 2018 – Carol Gold, INFINITE DANCE installed in Riverfront Park near the Broadway Bridge

More information is available on the web at http://sculptureattherivermarket.com/.