Chelsea Sculpture Walk Adds 12 New Pieces

Downtown Chelsea has a new reason to slow down and look around.

Twelve new sculptures are now installed for this year’s Sculpture Walk, including a giant green praying mantis, a Michigan-themed selfie station and an oversized steel picture frame large enough for visitors to step inside.

Terris Ahrens with the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce said the final piece in this year’s rotation was recently installed. The leased sculptures are concentrated downtown, from near Perky Pantry north toward Los Tres Amigos, so visitors can see the full group by walking both sides of Main Street.

Ahrens said the Sculpture Walk is part of the chamber’s broader work to help make Chelsea “a premier place for people to live, work and recreate.”

The chamber supports that goal through traditional economic development work, including shopping, dining and manufacturing, he said. In Chelsea, arts and recreation are also a major part of that identity.

The Sculpture Walk gives Chelsea “a year-round aspect of art that can be enjoyed in any season for free,” Ahrens said.

Several of this year’s pieces were designed with photos and interaction in mind. One sculpture near the Chelsea District Library features the shape of Michigan filled with Chelsea-themed details. Another, near the praying mantis, is a large metal frame with music-themed elements, including guitars and a piano keyboard, creating a space where groups can pose inside the artwork.

“They all are” interactive, Ahrens said, but some are especially designed for visitors to get inside the piece or take photos with it.

The 12 leased sculptures are part of a larger and growing public art collection in Chelsea. Ahrens said the community now has more than 15 permanent sculptures. Each year, the chamber buys one of the rotating pieces and places it permanently in the community.

The Push Pop sculpture that had been on the library lawn is now owned by the chamber and will be placed permanently at Timber Town, Ahrens said. Another sculpture, the Star near the hospital entrance, is also now chamber-owned and is expected to move near Purple Rose Theatre.

All of the leased sculptures are also for sale. Ahrens said the chamber takes a 20% commission, with 80% going to the artist. Each artist also receives a $1,000 stipend for leasing their work for the year, funded through sponsorships.

“This truly is not a fundraiser,” Ahrens said. “This is a community art initiative.”

Sponsors make the program possible, he said, along with support from the City of Chelsea and city staff who help with installation and removal.

The chamber is also preparing updated materials for the walk, including brochures and QR codes near the sculptures. Ahrens said the QR codes will allow visitors to hear artist statements read by Scott Vertical of Ann Arbor’s 107one.

The Sculpture Walk is one piece of Chelsea’s larger public arts scene, which also includes Sounds & Sights on Thursday Nights and the new Chelsea Art Alley.