Downtown Sumter installs public art
3-ft. butterflies take flight
From the Sumter Item/Shelbie Goulding:
Visitors to downtown Sumter can now see colorful 3-foot butterflies hanging overhead, as the City of Sumter and Main Street Society teamed up to showcase local artists and bring positivity to the community amid the pandemic.
“We’ve been doing revitalization downtown for 20 years, and one thing we really don’t have downtown is art,” said Leigh Newman, downtown development coordinator for the city. “This was an art installation project that we wanted to do just to have some art downtown and brighten things up.”
…
Six local artists and a group of children painted 3-foot fiberglass butterflies more than a year ago, and now, their art is permanently displayed in the downtown area.
“Public art adds so much value to a community, and I really hope that when people see the butterflies that they can feel proud of downtown and that they can be proud of Sumter,” Brown said.
The six Sumter artists are:
- Connie Brennan
- Erin Duffie
- Liz Duffy
- Cleo Klopfleisch
- Matthew Morse
- Nurai Tucker
Read Shelbie Goulding’s full story here. The story includes locations of butterflies.