Welcome to the Greenbelt Sculptural Seating Project

Imagine walking the beautiful Snake River Greenbelt and discovering art and nature crafted into a scenic resting place! The Snake River Greenbelt and Falls is the number one visitor attraction in our community. What better way to enhance the greenbelt experience than to provide artistically inspired seating areas where one can savor the joys of the natural world while reflecting on the creativity of the human spirit. Through a collaborative effort between the Historic Downtown Foundation of Idaho Falls, the Idaho Falls Arts Council, the City Parks and Recreation Department and the City Beautification Commission, it is our goal to commission and place approximately 20 artistic seating areas on the Snake River Greenbelt between Broadway and the LDS Temple on the eastside and Broadway and John's Hole Bridge on the westside. The sites have been selected in consultation with the Parks and Recreation Department and approved by the Parks & Recreation Commission. The 20 finalist designs were selected from a pool of 101 submissions by 29 different artists. Funding will come from private businesses and individuals who will sponsor individual benches for $3000 with $2900 going to the artist and the remaining $100 to cover the costs of plaques recognizing the sponsors and artists. Twelve of the 20 benches will be installed and unveiled on the greenbelt on September 21st. The remaining benches will be installed in late spring 2011. We thank the City Parks and Recreation Committee for their support of this project.
("Appaloosa" bench design above by Ronda Friesen, 2010)

Greenbelt Art Bench Finalists

Here are the 20 art bench designs that were selected as Finalists for the Greenbelt Art Bench Project.  You can begin a slideshow by clicking on the play arrow.  At any time, you may mouse over the bottom of any photo and click the pause button to stop the slideshow.  You may then use the forward and back arrows to review other designs. (Click here if the slideshow will not load.)

How to Sponsor An Art Bench

Cost of sponsorship for each art bench is $3000 which is tax deductible as a charitable gift. Businesses can also expense it as a marketing/promotion cost, if they prefer. $2900 will be paid to the artist. The remaining $100 will be used to purchase a plaque to be installed into the concrete underneath the bench acknowledging the artist and sponsor as per the following sample:

“al-Lure”
Artist: Jason Brown
Gift of: Name of Sponsor
(Optional…. “in memory of xxxxxxx”)
http://www.idahofallsarts.org/

The website printed on the plaque will provide additional information about the artist, art bench and sponsor (if the sponsor would like this option). In this way, people with cel phones or i-pads who are walking the greenbelt can enjoy an interactive learning experience about the art benches.

We are still seeking sponsors for benches. For more information on how to sponsor an art bench, contact Carrie Scheid at 206-9506 or cscheid@Q.com.

Greenbelt Art Bench Collaborators

The Greenbelt Art Bench Project is a collaborative effort between the Historic Downtown Foundation of Idaho Falls, the Idaho Falls Arts Council, the City Parks & Recreation Department and the City Beautification Commission. The Coordinator for this project is Carrie Scheid (right). She is the recently retired Executive Director of the Idaho Falls Arts Council and is serving in this position as a volunteer. Working with Carrie are volunteer members of the Idaho Falls Parks & Recreation Commission, as well as a wide range of other community members. Parks and Recreation Commission member John Parsons (far right) has spent a few hours in the snow along the Greenbelt with Carrie discussing various potential art bench locations. Kris Millgate and Terry Miller are members of the P&R Commission Greenbelt Subcommittee. Kris & Terry have also taken an important role in this collaborative effort.

Art Bench Site Descriptions

Some potential greenbelt art bench locations are shown in the slide show above.
Click the play arrow to begin. Locations are shown without captions.
Move the cursor to the bottom of any photo to see the control bar.
You may click the pause button to stop on any photo.
Use the right or left arrows to continue forward or backward.

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This blog was created at 7:37 pm, February 22, 2010.