Explore Downtown Springfield’s Sculpture Walk

The space cat outside The Order, the giant foot by the United Way of the Ozarks building, the 22 aluminum- and bronze-clad figures scattered about downtown—these works of art are all part of a bigger project to bring art to the Springfield community beyond the limitation of walls.

Sculpture Walk Springfield was an idea dreamt by Bob and Peg Carolla and Mike and Karen Schneider after visiting other cities, including Sioux Falls and Mexico City. The former has a huge sculpture program that many in the United States are based on. Both families wanted art to be accessible to everybody, and they decided to start with downtown—the most pedestrian-based neighborhood in Springfield. “Art has a way of connecting people,” says Bridget Bechtel, executive director of Sculpture Walk Springfield. “It’s something that is thought-provoking and emotionally provoking, and it makes you wonder about the way you feel about things. Public art is a necessity for a growing community.”

This year marks the 10th year of Sculpture Walk Springfield. They commemorated the milestone with the addition of “Interactive Neon Mural #23” on the back of the Historic Fox Theatre, installed on September 27, 2024, and created by Spidertag—a street artist and muralist from Madrid, Spain. “That is considered a sculpture because it is three-dimensional,” Bechtel says. The geometrical sculpture can be interacted with through an app that allows viewers to be a part of the art by changing its light color and motion.

In addition to the new interactive art, they are bringing in a curator for the very first time. In the past, a panel of community members has judged the sculpture submissions. This year, Johannah Hutchison from the International Sculpture Center selected the pieces and picked where they go around town. “This is a huge opportunity for us,” Bechtel says. “The International Sculpture Center is the foremost hub for all sculptors and sculpture-related anything. We’re really excited about it.”

In November, the Sculpture Walk team put out a call across multiple platforms asking for innovative and big ideas. Sculptors had about three months to put together an application of up to five works of art to be considered. When it comes to the selection process, the team avoids any works of art that have pointy or sharp edges or that depict nudity. The Public Works Department also reviews the selections to ensure they can’t identify anything on the sculpture that might hurt someone. From here, Hutchison selects the pieces based on the criteria of safety, durability, overall look and craftsmanship. The process of installing the selected sculptures begins on April 28. “We call it the dance of the sculptures,” Bechtel says. “Everything gets either moved or replaced.”

Each sculpture is leased to Sculpture Walk—they become the steward of that piece, responsible for its upkeep and repairs if needed. When the lease ends, artists pick up their pieces and typically take them to a city with a similar program.

Occasionally, a piece of art is selected to stay on Sculpture Walk for another year, but for the most part, Betchel tries not to keep anything for more than two years. There are some pieces, such as “Pantree” by Mike Helbing and “The Defeat of Bigfoot” by James Hall, that have been purchased for Sculpture Walk or gifted to the program. These are permanent installations that will always remain part of Sculpture Walk Springfield. You can follow along Sculpture Walk using the interactive map online.

Beyond being whimsical and captivating to look at, these sculptures bring people downtown and promote economic vitality to the businesses nearby. They also provide a free, family-friendly activity people can participate in that gives them a positive outlook on the community. Public art sparks conversations that make the viewer dig deeper into how they feel. “Art also has a way of giving people a sense of belonging and a sense of ownership over that community,” Bechtel says. “It provides people with a landmark to say, ‘That is something from my home.’”

Originally published 2023

This week sees the kick-off of the seventh annual Sculpture Walk in downtown Springfield, Missouri. From April 23, downtown will host a total of 37 public sculptures for the next year. You might have strolled the Sculpture Walk yourself a few times in the past, but if it’s been a while there are some new things to keep an eye out for. For the last couple of years, the sculptures have included an audio element, so anyone taking the Sculpture Walk can hear the artists behind the art talk about their work. This year also features 11 sculptures specifically dedicated to our local healthcare workers.

“The healthcare walk is a special portion of the Sculpture Walk that's dedicated to our community’s healthcare workers,” says Avery Parrish, executive director of the Sculpture Walk. “For those workers and leaders in our community, as well as individuals that had a hard time through the pandemic—we felt that the Sculpture Walk was one of the only things people could really do safely while the pandemic was going on.” Parrish describes the 11 sculptures as being designed around themes of empathy, endurance, loss and “all the things that healthcare workers really help us navigate through. It's just a really great way for people to get out and talk about those topics [and] that can help them cope with the past two years.”

NOTE: The story below was originally posted in August 2019, written by Haley Phillips.

Walk This Way

With over 30 sculptures in its repertoire, the Sculpture Walk has plenty to see. Here are four of our favorites to help you bring out your inner Michelangelo.