Public Art - Art Matters
A Vision of Our Culture
A Completed Six Part series of Permanent Public Art for Atchison Installations
The Atchison Art Association believes that a diverse and flourishing cultural community contributes to the city’s overall civic and economic vitality and the well-being of its people and neighborhoods. We present to you our multi-year plan that contributes to this process of building a progressive and vibrant community. A Vision of our Culture includes six permanent public art exhibits that visually draw attention to the places in our community where culture is introduced, developed and nurtured. Art, history, food, commerce, people and language are the building blocks of local culture and individually each is the focus of this multi-year public art project.
Public Art
Gifts of Art
American Beauty
Donated by Craig and Cathy Schroer, this beautiful sculpture can be viewed at the Amelia Earhart Airport Museum, Atchison, KS
Events
The George Johnson Memorial Dedication
On January 4, 1870, an African American man by the name of George Johnson was lynched by a mob of at least 50 white men in Atchison, Kansas.
In an effort to recognize the history of racial violence, members of Atchison United and the Atchison Art Association were motivated to memorialize George Johnson’s lynching as a means of addressing the racial violence that plagued Atchison and much of America and bring awareness to the fact that Atchison cannot progress as a community unless and until the past is confronted in a historically accurate and meaningful way.
Inspired by the Equal Justice Initiative’s Community Remembrance Projects, individuals with Atchison United worked for the past 11 months with the Equal Justice Initiative to formally recognize the lynching of George Johnson.
Dedication of the historical marker along with the Reflections sculpture, commissioned by the Atchison Art Association took place at Historic Sculpture Park located between 4th and 5th and Commercial on June 19, 2021
