Athens unveils Sculpture Pocket Park as community center marks 25 years
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Summary
City officials, artists and residents gathered at the Athens Community Center to celebrate its 25th anniversary and dedicate a new Sculpture Pocket Park featuring a bronze owl by Ellen Gagliano. Speakers recalled the center's origins, funding from two 1997 local income-tax ballot measures and plans for future site amenities.
At a ceremony at the Athens Community Center, city officials, artists and residents on hand for the center's 25th anniversary unveiled a new Sculpture Pocket Park featuring a bronze owl by artist Ellen Gagliano.
"This place is the hub of our community, and I am honored to be a part of its history," said Catherine Ann Jordan, director of arts, parks and recreation for the city of Athens, describing the center as "a place for friends of all ages to socialize, exercise, and learn new things." Sam Crowell, president of the city council, said the pocket park "is a reminder that public spaces are most meaningful when they bring people together and reflect the creativity of our community."
The dedication highlighted the community role of the center and the local support that made it possible. According to remarks at the event, the current center replaced a roughly 2,500-square-foot renovated airplane shelter and was financed in part after voters approved two local income-tax ballot measures in 1997. Speakers said the design team included a collaborative from Toledo, Ohio, and a firm identified in the remarks as Paninch and Knoll; construction began in 1998 and the center opened 25 years ago, according to comments during the program.
Ellen Gagliano, the artist who created the new sculpture, described the work as a bronze owl intended to represent Athena, the figure for which the town is named. "The owl is a bronze piece. You can come tap on her, and she is a representation of Athena," Gagliano said, adding that the sculpture's green appearance recalls the patina of historic bronze works and that benches are planned for the pocket park next year. Organizers also acknowledged contributing artists Petra Leonard, Achim Binkley and an artist identified as Savannah, and thanked Will Frazier and Logan Clay Company for providing clay and workspace used in making the sculpture base.
Former director of the Arts, Parks and Recreation Kevin Schwartzoff offered a brief history of the center and the community process that led to it, saying that Recreation Advisory Board members surveyed residents in the mid-1990s and that the community supported a new facility that required additional funding. Former poet laureate Wendy McVicker read a poem by John Haines during the celebration.
Organizers invited attendees to an indoor program following the dedication that will include a presentation on owls, light refreshments and family activities; the art club planned to provide face painting. Event speakers encouraged local businesses and civic groups to adopt similar community-recognition ideas such as a "Perch and Protect" award mentioned by Gagliano, a concept she said the parks department uses to honor staff who "go above and beyond to protect the community."
