Friday March 29, 2024
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City Contracts With Falls Art Foundry For Castleman Monument Cleanup

The city has contracted with the local Falls Art Foundry to remove a vandal’s paint from the Castleman monument in Cherokee Park. The $8,200 contract includes the cost for paint removal and re-waxing of the monument.

Falls Art Foundry is a fine art, lost wax, casting and design facility located in the historic Portland neighborhood. It specializes in the production of expertly crafted bronze sculpture for public, private, gallery and museum presentation, and is a member of The National Sculpture Society and The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.

A start date has not yet been determined, but once begun, the cleanup is expected to take about one week to complete.

The statue was vandalized on August 13. On August 14, paint removal methods were tested by Metro staff to determine the scope of work that would be required to remove the paint. Metro then consulted specialists with expertise in maintaining bronze sculpture on costs, timing, and methods.

After this vandalism occurred, Mayor Greg Fischer called for a review of the city’s public art inventory to develop a list of public artwork that could be interpreted to honor bigotry, racism and/or slavery. The Commission on Public Art will hold a public meeting on Sept. 6 from 4-7 p.m. in the Old Jail Auditorium (514 W. Liberty) to review and to discuss the artwork it believes merits further discussion and analysis.

Following the Commission’s meeting, the city will lead a public engagement effort to gather further input from the community. No decisions about the future of any public artwork will be made until after this public engagement process is complete.

Citizens may submit thoughts and comments on the city’s public art collection online at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/public-art/public-art-review and through Develop Louisville Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Written comments may also be mailed to Commission on Public Art, 444 S. 5th Street, Suite 600, Louisville, KY 40202.

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