Downtown Naperville planning summer sculpture display
Summer beats winter - at least when it comes to outdoor public art displays.
The Downtown Naperville Alliance wants to switch its annual sculpture program from winter, where it has been doing holiday-themed displays for the past several years, to summer to allow for more possible themes and a more pleasant display season, Executive Director Katie Wood said Thursday.
"We all know our winters are unpredictable here," Wood said. "Warmer months bring more predictable weather to enjoy the art."
The alliance wants to keep one popular feature of the holiday trains that recently were taken down - interactivity. Kids enjoyed playing on the 17 Fiberglass trains, but Wood said Downtown Naperville Alliance members had a hard time coming up with another interactive winter theme.
"We've done three great ones over the last three years," she said about the snowmen, gingerbread cookies and trains that have been featured since 2012. "But in 2015, knowing how much people liked the interactive nature of the trains, we thought, 'Let's do these in the summer.'"
The alliance wants to do two styles of car sculptures this summer that kids could sit in. Sponsors can choose a convertible or a coupe.
Pending city council approval of sidewalk locations to install the sculptures, the program would include 15 cars along Main, Washington and Water streets as well as Chicago, Jackson, Jefferson and Van Buren avenues. The council could approve the locations at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3.
"We plan to reveal them over Father's Day weekend," Wood said. "It's downtown Naperville's version of a car show."
The cars would remain outside until mid-September, giving a longer display period than the two-month holiday span from mid-November to mid-January.
Sponsors, including nonprofit organizations and car dealerships, are signing up to buy the vintage car sculptures, which then will be painted and decorated by artists.
Naperville has seen summer sculptures flourish before when the United Way displayed outdoor art for eight summers in the 2000s, then auctioned the pieces for charity at the end of each season.
Wood said the Downtown Naperville Alliance might consider an auction, but so far the organization has let each sponsor choose what to do with its masterpiece.
Many end up with community organizations. More than half of the holiday trains have found public homes in school playgrounds or libraries, at the Naper Settlement, the DuPage Children's Museum, Loaves & Fishes Community Services and 360 Youth Services.