HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2017-06-09 Art sPARKs Design Award
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
June 9, 2017
Media Contact:
Betsy Arnett, Public Information Officer
barnett@leesburgva.gov 703-771-2734
Leesburg’s Art sPARKs Sculpture Trail in Raflo Park Receives
“Signatures of Loudoun” Design Excellence Award
Leesburg, VA (June 9, 2017)
– At Tuesday’s 13th
Signatures of Loudoun
Design Excellence Awards,
the Loudoun County Design
Cabinet honored the Art
sPARKs Sculpture Trail in
Raflo Park with an award in
the Public Spaces category.
The annual Signatures of
Loudoun Design Excellence
Awards recognize quality
design projects throughout
the county that reinforce Loudoun’s identity.
The Art sPARKs Sculpture Trail, a joint project of the Leesburg Commission on Public Art and the
Friends of Leesburg Public Arts, was completed in June 2016. The trail features five sculptures
by local artists installed along a winding path through Raflo Park. The sculptures will be on
display through June 2018 and are for sale. Proceeds of the sculpture sales will fund the next
round of sculpture displays, scheduled to be selected in late 2017 and installed in July 2018.
In recognizing the sculpture trail with a Public Spaces design award, the design cabinet heralded
the project as an example of a public space revitalized through community involvement. In
particular, the cabinet highlighted the inclusion of work by local artists, bringing an element of
uniquely Loudoun culture to the space. Design Cabinet Chair Alan Hansen noted that the
combination of the sculpture trail and the Crescent Place development across the street has
created a new gathering space in downtown Leesburg.
“We are delighted that the Art sPARKs Sculpture Trail has been recognized with this award,”
says Tom O’Neil, chair of the Leesburg Commission on Public Art. “The genesis of this project
was our realization that there were many public places in Leesbu rg for paintings, photographs
and other two-dimensional art to be displayed, but few places for sculpture. I’d like to thank
Rich Williams, Leesburg’s Director of Parks and Recreation, for his support. We originally
approached him about creating a sculpture trail at Ida Lee Park and he suggested Raflo Park
instead. With its visibility along Harrison Street, Raflo Park is a much better location, allowing
more people to see and enjoy the sculptures as they travel through downtown.”
“The sculpture trail has been a great addition to downtown,” adds Leesburg Mayor Kelly Burk.
“Before the trail was installed, Raflo Park was greatly underutilized. Now, you see people there
every day. I would like to recognized the major sponsors of the trail, Lansdowne Development
Corporation and Middleburg Bank. Without their support, the sculpture trail would not have
been possible.”
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