Wheeling board open to hiring professional artists

The construction of a new village campus is also giving Wheeling the chance to put up artwork that defines the town.

On Monday, the village board agreed to let the staff look into an agreement with the Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt-Amrany for artwork that could be placed in the campus when the new village hall is open in 2009.

The studio has done sculptures in various media around the country, including a war memorial in Munster, Ind., the bronze statue of Michael Jordan outside the United Center and the Harry Caray statue at Wrigley Field.

Omri Amrany said he and his wife, Julie Rotblatt-Amrany, have helped other cities and villages create their stories with artwork, including a snapshot of a town's history and where it would like to go in the future.

Amrany said the studio can help make a "statement to the public, who we are, who we want to be."

"There's a whole treasure of themes (in Wheeling) that could be brought into play," Trustee Ken Brady said.

Village Manager Mark Rooney said any artwork would take about 15 to 20 months to complete. He said the process would start with a committee of three to six people, made up of a trustee, a staff member and residents.

He said that group will come up with direction for the artist and stay within the budgetary constraints of the village.

"We always talked about drawing people to the plaza," Trustee Dean Argiris said. "The campus will call for (artwork)."

Rooney said he will start the project, including coming up with a timeline and negotiating a budget for the artwork.