The City of Wichita’s public art collection preserves 141 years of history — and it's still growing
More than 200 works in the collection — from 19th-century stone gargoyles to recently painted murals — can now be viewed online.
One way to view Wichita history is through its art, which the City of Wichita has been acquiring and preserving since its second decade.
“The public art collection reflects the community itself, what we value, who we are,” said Jana Erwin, the city’s first public art manager. “It's very much part of the very diverse fabric of the people that live here.”
The collection includes all forms of media. Works are located in spaces within Wichita’s urban districts, parks, libraries, bridges, roadways, public facilities, fire stations, and police stations.
One of Erwin’s top priorities was to make the city’s public arts collection available online.
“One of the reasons (for that) is the public art collection belongs to the public, everyone who lives here in Wichita,” Erwin said. “It's their art collection.”
In the past, works of art came into the city’s collection in an ad hoc fashion. One example: David Stolz’ “Big Red,” which now stands in front of the Advanced Learning Library. Until it was installed last year, the sculpture had been in storage in the basement of Century II since the 1990s.
“It was gifted to the city by one of the citizens here, but it was in need of restoration work, and it was placed in storage until that work could be done,” Erwin said. The city contracted with Russell-Marti Conservation to get the sculpture ready for the public, a process that took two years.
David Stolz' "Big Red" (1985) was installed last year after years of storage in the Century II basement. Photos courtesy of the City of Wichita.
Now additions to the city’s public art collection are funded through percent for art, an ordinance passed in 2019 that allotted 2% of Capital Improvement Program project funds to a pool of funding allocated for public art.
“The focus with public art collections now is on the integration of art into these projects and into our built environment,” Erwin said.
That means public art is integrated into infrastructure, new buildings, and renovation projects from the beginning of the planning process.
Wichita’s percent for art ordinance also allows for allocation of up to 10% of the funds towards maintenance of the collection. The Division of Arts & Culture Services recommended that 10% be allocated to arts maintenance annually for the next five years. The Design Council, an 11-member, mayor-appointed public-art advisory body, agreed.
“I'm thrilled that we have our maintenance fund,” Erwin said. “There has been quite a bit of deferred maintenance on the collection that needs to be taken care of, and as the owner of the collection, we have an obligation to be good stewards of that collection and ensure its longevity and care.”
Multiple works are currently being restored or are slated for restoration. They include “Heritage Pole,” which stands in front of the Mid-America All-Indian Museum.
Joe Sequiche Morris' "Heritage Pole" (1986) is one of the works in the city's public art collection that will soon be restored. Photos courtesy of the City of Wichita.
Before Erwin took on her current position in the City’s Arts & Cultural Services Division in 2022, she served as the curator of education at the Ulrich Museum of Art and the art center director for the Wichita Center for the Arts (now Mark Arts). She is also a studio artist. saw the newly created role of public art manager as a way to work with the community.
“I was intrigued,” she said. “it felt like an opportunity to expand my work in community engagement with the arts into a larger sector.”
"As the owner of the collection, we have an obligation to be good stewards of that collection and ensure its longevity and care.” — Jana Erwin
During her tenure with the city, Erwin has also helped change the approach to issuing the requests for proposals (RFPs) and requests for qualifications (RFQs) for public art.
Prior to 2023, artists were usually selected by the architectural firm or engineering firm that had been contracted by the city for public projects.
A few works from the City of Wichita public art collection, from top left: Lisa Rundstrom, Tom McGuire, and John Harrison; “Avian Migrations;” plastic, LEDs, computers, electronic components, sensors, aluminum; 2018. Babs Mellor, “Carry A. Nation,” bronze, 2018. Ellamonique Baccus; “Cultivating the Seeds of our Future;" paint, concrete; 2019. Dr. "Glen Day Park Wall" (formerly Grove Park); Tina Murano and students from Buckner, Isley and Mueller elementary schools; glass, tile, concrete, stone; 2007. Chris Garcia and Brickmob, “Wichita Baseball,” acrylic, 2020. Constance Ernatt, “River Troll,” metal, 2007. Photos courtesy of the City of Wichita.
“When Lindsay (Benacka) became director and when I came on board, one concern was we wanted to ensure that the process was accessible and that it was equitable to everyone,” Erwin said. “One way to do that is to have an open request for qualifications for every project, so that everyone has an equal opportunity to submit their qualifications for consideration.”
Erwin said that all calls for artists are done through an RFQ process that is open to all through callforentry.org. Opportunities are advertised on the city’s website.
Many new projects are in the design phase, construction phase, or nearing installation.
“We have 18 open projects currently in various phases,” Erwin said. “Over the next one to three years, we're going to have some really exciting new public art installations and I cannot wait to see them come to fruition.”
Find all the works in the city of Wichita public art collection at publicartarchive.org.
Many works in Wichita's public art collection are integrated into infrastructure, such as "Red Water at Sunset (Minisa Bridge)" (Bruce Moore and Ethel Parker, concrete, 1932) and the more recent "Harry Street Bridge Cranes (Stephen Atwood and Kent Williams, stainless steel, 2021) and "Leaf Piers and Retaining Walls" (Dan Gegan, concrete). Photos courtesy of the City of Wichita.
Jacinda Hall (she/her) is a journalist born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. She is currently a senior at Wichita State studying journalism and English. She has been on staff at the Sunflower for the past two and a half years, most recently as the publication's podcast editor for the 2023-24 academic year. Outside of writing, Hall enjoys knitting, crocheting, playing video games, watching TV and listening to a good book or podcast.
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