FORT PIERCE — A landmark Fort Pierce City Hall sculpture will be relocated to make way for a new piece of downtown art being commissioned by the city’s Arts and Culture Advisory Board.
The six-foot-tall stainless steel bird with an eight-foot wingspan appears ready to attack a two-foot by two-foot metal snake is currently situated on the front lawn of the municipal building.
The sculpture, titled “Blind Date” by Georgia artist Doug Makemson, came to Fort Pierce about 15 years ago and has been in several locations here during that time. Makemson is known for pieces created from scrap metal that depict animals.
Now the Arts and Culture Advisory Board has recommended relocating it to a site at the Indian Hills Recreation Center.
City commissioners recently approved the advisory board’s plan to solicit proposals from artists for a new piece that will “reflect the identity, values and vision of the city and its residents.”
“This effort supports the broader initiative to enhance public spaces and ensure that displayed art reflects the welcoming and inclusive spirit of Fort Pierce,” a city spokesperson said when asked why the existing sculpture is being relocated and replaced.
City officials said the theme, budget and timeline for the new sculpture project have not been set yet, pending the selection of an artist. The process and deadline for artists to submit proposals are still to be announced.
The city’s Public Work Department will handle relocating the existing sculpture.
In addition, the city has approved a $15,000 contract with artist Anita Prentice to create and install mosaic grave caps to honor three renowned Highwaymen artists buried in Fort Pierce’s Pine Grove Cemetery. They include two of the original nine Highwaymen artists, Al Black and Mary Ann Carroll, the only woman of the group; and Rodney Demps, a later addition to the 26-member group of local African American painters
The Highwaymen were known for their vibrant landscape paintings created here from the 1950s to 1980s, at a time when professional galleries did not represent black artists. They sold their work along Highway A1A and U.S. 1 from the trunks of their cars.
Today, the original paintings are collected and Fort Pierce is developing a museum devoted to the Highwaymen and their art.
In addition, city commissioners have approved ongoing funding to restore and preserve Prentice’s original outdoor mosaic benches. The Arts and Culture Board is issuing a “call for artists” to find someone qualified to perform the work “to ensure the continued preservation of these unique pieces…”
No budget has been allocated yet for the bench restoration.
Budget revenue for Art in Public Places comes from an allocation of 1 percent of the cost of city-funded construction and renovation projects, officials said.