November 06, 2017

Fall is finally here along with chilly weather, earlier sunsets and colorful leaves. This beautiful season is also one of the busiest of the year with fundraisers, parties, meetings events and plenty more. This weekend, take the time to slow things down, treat yourself to a night out with your special someone and enjoy some spectacular public art.

Admit it: The typical dinner-and-a-movie date night has you yawning. Why not throw in some art? All it takes is a little planning. First, make dinner plans at one of downtown Springfield’s delicious eateries, then make your way to the Moxie, the Regal College Station cinema or one of several live theatre destinations. Wherever you end up, you’ll likely find several Sculpture Walk sculptures along the way.

Say you’re heading to catch a flick at Regal College Station. First, head toward Park Central Square. You’ll spot our smallest sculpture, “The Piano Man,” outside of Coffee Ethic’s South Street entrance. Local artist Larry Askren created this sculpture from carbon steel using a CNC machine to cut out the unique shapes.

Once you hit the Square, you’ll find a sculpture on every corner. If you have time, take the long way around so you can see them all. If you’re pressed to make it to your show, head west to see “Broken Wine Glass” outside of the Park Central Branch library. Created by Domenico Belli, an Italian artist who lives in New York, the sculpture looks like, well, a broken wine glass.

Next, make your way down Park Central West where you’ll find “Sunflowers” hidden in the trees about halfway down the street. Joe Malesky created this piece using found objects—what some people might call junk. Malesky creates all of his pieces out of things he finds on the side of the road, rocks he finds while hiking or junk from the junkyard. We love how Malesky saves items from the landfill to create art.

Finally, with the movie theater in sight, you’ll find “Natural Balance” at the corner of Campbell Avenue and College Street. Artist Jeffrey Barrett created this sculpture specifically for Springfield. His goal was to bring together a sculpture that questions the interaction between the built environment and the natural. “Natural Balance” was formed from wood and steel and adorned with a live plant on top.

By this point, you’re probably ready to scout out the other 18 sculptures located throughout downtown. Visit Sculpture Walk’s website to find them all—sounds like the perfect excuse for a second date.