Another 13 Keeper statues will be added to city parks in celebration of Wichita’s 150th
A bunch of Keepers are about to join the parade that started in Wichita in 2015.
Together Wichita, a nonprofit made up of businesses that organize and finance projects intended to better the city, will be dispersing 13 10-foot-tall Keepers on Parade sculptures around Wichita as part of a celebration of Wichita’s 150th birthday, which will be marked this summer.
Artists have already been selected to decorate the new sculptures, and each of the city’s six City Council districts will receive two. One will be designed and painted for Mayor Brandon Whipple.
The artists will get the fiberglass sculptures in March and will have until the end of June to finish painting them. Details on their unveiling will be revealed later, said Together Wichita project coordinator Tessa Brungardt.
The Keepers on Parade project started five years ago with nine decorated sculptures, and they’ve continued to multiply. Today, 29 have been installed around town. Among the places that sculptures reside: the lobby of Hotel at Old Town, outside the Credit Union of America in Delano, at the KU School of Medicine-Wichita, and in front of USD 259’s Alvin Morris Administrative Center.
The idea for the new round of Keepers was proposed by the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce’s community of young professionals called W. They were looking for a way to promote Wichita pride, Brudgardt said, and they thought engaging local parks would be a good way. The group decided the Keepers would be a 150th birthday gift to the city.
The artists will each be paid $1,000 for their design and work on the sculptures. They’ve been asked to collaborate with City Council members to come up with designs that represent each district.
The Wichita Eagle is one of the Together Wichita Partners. The others are Armstrong Chamberlin; Berry Companies Inc.; Credit Union of America; Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch; Friends University; Newman University; Spirit AeroSystems; Wichita Area Builders Association; and the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Below is a list of the artists chosen to decorate the 13 new Keepers and the spots they’ll be installed:
Dr. Glen Dey Park, 2801 N. Grove– Hallie Linnebur
Fairmount Park, 1647 N. Yale – Ellamonique Baccus
Eastview Park, 1544 N. Governeour Road – Coral Donnelly
Stryker Sports Complex, 2999 N. Greenwich – Angie Evans
Planeview Park, 2919 Fees – ArtsPartners
Clapp Park, 4611 E. Harry – Sarah and Chiyoko Myose
West Douglas Park, 3201 W. Douglas – Baxter Slim
Osage Park, 2121 W. 31st St. South – Heather Byers
Buffalo Park, 10201 Hardtner – Josh Johnico
Pracht Wetlands Park, 9929 W. 29th St. North – Delilah Reed
Minisa Park, 704 W. 13th St. – Priscella Brown
Orchard Park, 4808 W. Ninth St. – Lindsey Kernodle
Mayor’s Keeper - Michella Tripoli (special location to be announced at the public unveiling event this summer)
This story was originally published February 16, 2020 at 5:01 AM.
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