Public Art…in Gahanna

By Brandi Braun
Assistant City Administrator

The Gahanna Parks and Recreation Foundation (GPRF) is scheduled to unveil the community's first piece of public art that will establish a public arts presence and program in the City of Gahanna. The art is being funded by a private donation received in 2010 specifically to fund public art in the Creekside District. 

In 2011, the GPRF commissioned area artist Steve Bush to create a piece of art for the Creekside District and will be unveiled at the Foundation’s Friday after Five event.  Naming rights for the sculpture will be auctioned during the event thereby replenishing the Foundation’s art fund.  After one year, the piece will be moved to a permanent location in the Creekside District.  It is the intent of the Foundation members to continue this tradition of annually commissioning a piece to build a public art presence in Gahanna’s downtown.

The Foundation members wanted the art to be reflective of the community, so we put the call out through traditional and nontraditional methods asking for volunteers with an interest in public art to serve on Gahanna’s first Public Art Steering Committee. 

Six People serve on the committee:

• Jeannine Kern, Olde Gahanna resident and business owner, The Little Black Chair
• Amy Musser, Gahanna resident
• Laurel Naegle, Gahanna Resident & Parks and Recreation Board Member/Parks and Recreation Foundation Board Member
• Gary Sebach, Principal, Director of Architectural Services, Bird Houk a Division of OHM 
• Tony Slanec, Principal, Director of Urban Design & Planning, Bird Houk a Division of OHM
• Rhonda Tucker, Gahanna Resident and professional artist
• Jan Ross, Gahanna Parks and Recreation Board member & Parks and Recreation Foundation Board member 

Artist Steven Bush

The steering committee met two times with Steve.  At the first meeting, Steve brought and presented five art concept sketches based on his research on The City of Gahanna and the Creekside District.  The Committee members asked questions and discussed each concept sketch and narrowed down the pool of options to the two favorites.  At the second meeting, one month later, Steve brought models of each finalist that were presented and discussed.  The committee voted by ballot to select the “winning” piece, which Steve got to work on immediately!

Artist Steve Bush shows committee
members the artwork in progress

We are excited to unveil the artwork and you can be a part of it while supporting the Gahanna Parks & Recreation Foundation.  Please join us at the Friday After Five Event for an evening of fun and good causes and to be part of the launching of Gahanna’s Public Art Program.   

For more information about Friday After Five, please go to www.gahannaparksandrecreationfoundation.org or call 342-4250.  If you are interested in becoming involved with The Arts in Gahanna, please contact Brandi Braun at brandi.braun@gahanna.gov or 342-4045.

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About the Gahanna Parks & Recreation Foundation:

Parks & Recreation services are essential for our City’s quality of life. They benefit our lives each day by encouraging businesses and new residents to settle in Gahanna; they provide lifetime family memories; they improve our health and preserve our natural area. Like other resources, these services are funded by the City. However, the needs of our parks, facilities and recreation programming may exceed our financial resources. The Gahanna Parks & Recreation Foundation was founded to assist the Gahanna Department of Parks & Recreation in supporting these needs. This non-profit 501(C)(3) organization is a group of hard-working volunteer citizens who donate their time and talents to protect, nurture, and grow the opportunities our residents deserve.

About Steven Bush:
A few miles North East of Columbus in Blacklick, Ohio resides a treasure many have yet to discover. Steven Bush, a metal sculptor and owner of Smart Works has his studio a few feet from the home he owns with his lovely wife Theresa and two sons Sidney and Dominic. The five-acre location with a woods and lake is the perfect setting for an artist like Steve to practice his beliefs that the order of life must be - God, family, love of your work, money and time to play. Read the rest...