Rendering by Greenscape
The Rahr West Art Museum in Manitowoc is embarking on a major landscaping project.
Executive Director Greg Vadney told Seehafer News the project on the east lawn of the museum at 610 N. 8th Street aims to make the space a lot more visitor-friendly.
“It was just simply a front lawn of grass and trees,” he explained. “We really didn’t do many activities out there and when we looked at it, we thought, hey, there was an opportunity here to open this place up. So, it is kind of step one of what we envision as a transformative project of the museum.”
The first step is to bring gathering areas to that front lawn, then they intend to add a lot of public sculpture to make it a sculpture walk. According to Vadney, that addition is so “anytime day or night whether you’re here when the museum building is open or closed, you’re going to get an art experience at the Rahr West.”
The plan calls for local, national and international artists to be commissioned to create works for the sculpture walk.
Then, Vadney says, there’s going to be a rubberized family and kids area on the north end of the front lawn, “Which will allow for people to gather and sit down, do classes out there, have fun for families. And it’s all accessible…The intention was always to have surfaces that anybody, if you have a stroller, (or) somebody’s in a wheelchair, that you’re going to be able to enjoy that just like anybody else.”
There’s also going to be a site near the front sign of the Rahr West for a “Sputnik Patio” area where it’s envisioned they can host small bands, do concerts and talks.
Vadney said the end goal of this is to “kick open the doors of the museum and not just have a place, but rather an idea that art happens here.”
