New Public Art Plaza Being Built In Wenatchee Memorial Park
Work is underway to install a new public art plaza at Memorial Park in Wenatchee.
The center of the park where walkways cross is now a construction zone while the plaza is being built.
It'll be circular in shape and will be 20 feet in diameter with a planter section that'll have informal seating along its walls.
The art plaza should be completed in October. Three sculptures will be installed in the plaza by October of next year.
The center piece sculpture will depict Wenatchi Chief John Harmelt on Horseback to recognize the Wenatchi Tribe as the first people in the city.
Anthor sculpture will portray the future of the Wenatchi Tribe while a third will have interpretive items.
Sculptor Jud Turner of Eugene, Oregon was selected to create a sculpture of Wenatchi Chief John Harmelt.
Turner works with reclaimed metal and spent a day in the Wenatchee City Hall parking lot with his truck and small trailer accepting donated metal items for the sculpture back in May.
Kevin Pettelle from Sultan, Washington is creating a sculpture depicting the future of the Wenatchi Tribe.
Pettelle already has artwork on display in the city. He created the PED sculpture in 2009, a larger than life-size rendering of a human foot that sits in Wenatchee's Riverfront Loop Trail.
In addition, Swede Albert is working on a sculpture of interpretive items. Albert is an artist from the Omak area known for creating artworks out of salvaged materials, like Turner.
The city council has budgeted $175,000 for the project this year.
The three-year project includes a deadline for the three sculptures to be completed by October 6, 2025.
A dedication ceremony is planned October 13, 2025, which is Indigenous People’s Day
Total cost for the project is estimated to be roughly $375,000.
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Gallery Credit: Rik Mikals