Penguin Parade brings public art to Mahoning Valley

Chicago had cows, Erie had fish and Buffalo had – well – buffalo. Now Youngstown will have penguins.

Thirty, five-foot tall penguins waddled into Youngstown during YSU’s homecoming parade. The fiberglass sculptures are part of a public art project by YSU and the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley.

Thirty penguin sculptures of all colors and designs will soon grace the streets, sidewalks and parks of the Youngstown region under a public arts project dubbed Penguin Parade, a collaboration between Youngstown State University and the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley.

The five-foot tall, fiberglass sculptures, mounted on a flatbed truck, make their entrance into Youngstown during YSU’s homecoming parade on Saturday, Oct. 25 beginning at 2 p.m.

“These projects have met with overwhelming success in other cities – boosting community spirits, promoting the arts, restoring pride and raising money for non-profit organizations,” said Catherine Cala, associate director of University Development and organizer of Penguin Parade.

“This project will create excitement and fun for the entire community.”
Chicago was the nation’s first city to launch such a project in 1998 with dozens of colorful cows decorating the streets of the Windy City. Since then, the concept has caught on in places like Pittsburgh (dinosaurs), Erie, Pa. (fish), Buffalo, N.Y. (buffalo), Cincinnati (pigs), Cleveland (guitars) and Rochester, N.Y. (horses).

A donation of nearly $35,000 from the Kennedy Family Foundation got the ball rolling on the local project. The plain white penguins were produced by Prewitt Fiberglass Animals in Gibbon, Neb.

For $2,850, local businesses, organizations or individuals can sponsor one of the penguins. Artists will be invited to submit their ideas on how to turn the plain penguin into a work of art. A selection committee will choose the best designs. Each sponsor will then select the design they want on their penguin. Each selected artist will get a $1,500 stipend to finish their penguin masterpiece.

“We have such a wealth of talented artists in this community that the planning committee is sure they’ll respond enthusiastically to this project,” said Patricia Brozik, executive director of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley.

The finished penguins will debut at the “Summer Festival of the Arts” in July 2004. The penguins then will be placed in public locations around the Mahoning Valley through October 2004. An auction will be held in November to sell the penguins.

Cala said she hopes the project nets more than $100,000. Proceeds will benefit non-profit organizations, including the McDonough Museum of Art; Students Motivated by the Arts (SMARTS); the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley; Youngstown Hearing and Speech; Goodwill Industries; Community Living; Beatitude House; Potential Development; Leadership Mahoning Valley; and Junior League.

Posted by Ron at October 23, 2003 02:41 PM