Sculptures Selected for Sculpture Walk Railside
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Thirteen new sculptures have been selected for Sculpture Walk Railside.They are among the fifty-three sculptures recently selected as part of Sculpture Walk Across Nebraska (SWAN), an art initiative in rural and outstate Nebraska. The newly selected sculptures will be coming to Grand Island in April, replacing the ones that were installed in April of this year.
Sculpture Walk Railside, is currently seeking funds to cover expenses associated with the 2025-2026 exhibit in Grand Island’s historic downtown. The Railside district joined SWAN in 2021 as the second member of the art group. Six rural and outstate communities are now members.
125 sculptures were available for consideration by the six SWAN communities. Each town selected the pieces they wanted to have in their sculpture walks, then the communities got together in a sports-type draft. Currently, contracts are out to the artists. Sculptures and artists will be announced when contracts are signed.
Volunteer, Nancy Huston is helping with the fund raising efforts for the upcoming exhibit in Grand Island. She is contacting various businesses and individuals who understand the importance of art in a vibrant community. Financial donations will be used for sculptor stipends, plus installation and program expenses.
Another means for generating funds is through a commission on the sale of sculptures.
Sculpture Walk Railside committee member, Tom Ziller, said, “The ultimate goal for any artist is to sell their art. When one of our Sculpture Walk Railside sculptures sells, we retain 25% of the purchase price as a commission, but it’s not something that happens each year.”
Commissions on the sale of sculptures help with the sustainability of the program. However, commissions are not included in the program budget due to their unpredictability.
“If all goes right, we will be able to use commissions for growth and donations for each year’s expenses,” said Jelinek.
Sculpture Walk Railside is a component program of the Greater Grand Island Community Foundation. Donations are tax-deductible and should be made through the foundation.
For information on how to donate, contact the foundation at 308-381-7767 or donate by finding Railside Sculpture Walk online at gicf.org.