Viking sculptures picked for new public art project

“It would be kind of like the cows in Chicago.” — Kurt Gillins, administrator of the RDC’s art advisory committee

“Little Vikings,” sponsored by Valparaiso businesses and painted by local artists, could sprout up around the city in the coming months, joining a fresh round of sculptures along the Cumberland Crossing art walk.

Over the years, the Valparaiso Redevelopment Commission has helped fund artwork throughout the city and, in conjunction with the schools, helped with art wraps around utility boxes in addition to the art walk, Kurt Gillins, administrator of the RDC’s art advisory committee, said during a commission meeting on Feb. 11.

Last year was a “status quo” year for the committee, Gillins said, but in conversations with Brandon Dickinson, the RDC’s executive director, the Cumberland Crossing art walk can continue this year through the Midwest Sculpture Initiative.

This would be the 11th year for the art installation. New art was installed last year along Cumberland Crossing but not until July.

The lease on those sculptures ends in late April or early May, when the pieces will be removed, Gillins said. The city is eligible for another round of sculptures and while it usually chooses first, its selection would come toward the end of this year.

The sculptures are $1,200 to $1,500 each to rent for the year, for a total of $25,000, though the committee could drop the number of sculptures to 10 to bring the price down, Gillins said.

The possibility of fiberglass, 4-foot high Vikings dotting the local landscape seemed to generate the most interest from the commission.

“It would be kind of like the cows in Chicago,” Gillins said, adding the statues are “an idea that could be accomplished this year.”

The statues at that size would range in price from $750 to $825 each, depending on the complexity of the design. With a minimum order of 25, Gillins said, the Nebraska company that makes them, Icon Poly, would waive a $4,000 design fee.

The statues would be around $20,000, he said, and the estimate delivery fee would be $1,500. The advisory arts committee would

need to secure concrete pads for each and find a body shop to clear coat them after they are painted by local artists.

Gillins would like to work with local businesses to sponsor decoration of the statues by artists through the Valparaiso Creative Council.

“I think that would be a great way to get the community involved and it would be very popular,” he said, adding he would work with the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce, where he works as vice president for programs and communications, and the city’s community engagement director, Maggie Clifton.

The RDC needs to provide a 50% deposit for the project, Gillins said, adding fabrication is an eight- to 12-week process.

The RDC can support both new artwork for Cumberland Crossing and the statues, said Rob Thorgren, the commission’s president, adding he doesn’t want to drop the sculptures on Cumberland and the Vikings could provide a spotlight for local artists.

“I think that would be really neat and make a little money at the same time” for those artists, he said.

Thorgren said Gillins should go ahead and “get our name in the queue” for the art walk sculptures, and Dickinson said Gillins should get more information on the logistics of the sculptures and bring those back to the commission, “and we’ll be off to the races.”