LEWES, Del.- Public art at a cost. The Lewes Public Arts Commission is working towards bringing a new sculpture to the first town.
Created by Dewitt Godfrey, Lewes Public Arts knew they wanted to jump on getting his art in Lewes, and fast. But this new sculpture is creating a lot of conversation. Mostly for its price which will be at least a couple thousand dollars.
The city of Lewes gives the group a budget for projects like this. Some reports have said the sculpture will use the entirety of the Lewes Public Arts Commission's $15,000 budget. But Cliff Diver with Lewes Public Arts says, that's not true. He says their budget from the city is not $15,000, it's closer to $12,000. Also, when they commission sculptures, they could use part of the budget and part of community raised funds.
Diver says how to fund the project is still in flux. Bringing the sculpture to Lewes will cost about $15,000, but it isn't decided yet how much of that will come from the city budget and how much will be from raised funds.
For some that might sound like a lot, but for others it's worth it.
"15,000 doesn't sound like a lot to me for something this important. It's hard to measure but art for the culture, for bringing in people. It could bring in tourism that could easily cover that 15,000 dollars," said Andrew Carmona in Lewes.
If everything goes according to plan, the sculpture could be at Canalfront Park by September of 2023.