CHESTERTOWN — Tucked away in pocket parks, strategically placed on street corners, or prominently displayed on the grounds of the Chestertown’s noteworthy addresses, is a collection of sculpted works that creates a unique gallery without walls or hours of operation.
Residents sometimes note that they received their introduction to a certain work while out and about trying to get in those requisite 10,000 steps a day along Horsey Lane, where N. Queen Street meets Byford Court.
This is the location of one of two more recent installations that The Chestertown Public Art Committee championed as part of its greater effort to find suitable venues for 24 primarily contemporary works by various artists from the collection of Hanna and Peter Woicke of St. Michaels, which was awarded to Chestertown in 2021.
The Horsey Lane installation, entitled “Around Man,” is a work by the Polish artist Eva Drewett. This piece, crafted in bronze, is a representation of the human form appearing initially as a torso with a defined spine, and then coaxing the viewer to take in its circumference as it opens on its opposite side to reveal a book-like construct with several pages of engraved text.
The text, said Public Art Committee Chair Ben Tilghman, is from a published work, but they have yet to determine which one.
That project will be undertaken by a research intern from Washington College this summer, he added, to assist in the Committee’s efforts to further educate the public about this collection, including the second of the latest installations, entitled “Strength of Community,” which can be viewed on the corner of Canon and Mill Streets.
This larger work, a welded bronze sculpture, is one of three in the Woicke Collection by artist Dan Rambadt. The work is a contemporary abstract that features Rambadt’s signature element: birds.
“We only know a little bit about the art and the artists themselves, and (we’re) developing some more didactic materials, developing maybe a couple of different kinds of walking tours … a shorter one and one that’s maybe a longer route,” Tilghman said.
Any comprehensive town-wide tour would include the body of installed works in addition to the Woicke collection, such as Broad Reach, which is featured prominently in Wilmer Park. The Woicke Collection is now in its final stages of installation, Tilghman said.
“We have eight more works to install … and our goal is to have them all in place by Downrigging Weekend,” he said, adding that the committee is also hopeful for continued community support.
“For this last batch, we still need to raise about $20,000 to get them in. I feel like it’s out there. …. and we do have some matching funds that come in. So, any donation that comes in now is matched one-to-one by the SFW Foundation,” he said.
Unlike traditional galleries, Tilghman feels the approach taken to enhance Chestertown with the Woicke Collection and its other fine public installations, affords a unique opportunity to residents.
“Here, certain works become part of people’s daily rituals and daily routines, and they see them in the snow and they see them in different kinds of weather, and they see them when they’re in a different kind of mindset,” explained Tilghman. “We wanted to give people a chance to really live with a lot of these pieces in that way.”
Another upside that comes with the thoughtful and strategic placement of the works, he said, is the pull they have into areas that people would otherwise pass through rather quickly, or that have business locations just off the beaten path. Tilghman cited the work by Adam C. Walls entitled, “The Ball and Red Arches” located near the Chestertown Rail Trail facing Cross Street, as one such placement that has helped several businesses at the edge of the business district with increased foot traffic to that area. The Committee makes the location recommendations which are then vetted and hopefully approved by the town’s Historic District Commission.
In addition to a formalized walking tour, the Committee is looking ahead to a slate of other initiatives that will have more public art popping up and pulling residents and visitors alike creatively around town and down to the harbor and marina.
In addition to putting the call out to involve more Chestertown-based artists in this public endeavor, the Committee has reached out to a primary community-based partner.
“We are partnering with the Star Center for the American Experience,” said Tilghman, adding that the Center is at the beginning of the planning process of commissioning a work of public art that will be centered there.
While there is no specific work named yet, Tilghman said their hope is to commission something that would connect with the Custom House and African-American history and culture on the Chesapeake.
“Especially Chestertown as a part of the Chesapeake,” he added.
“This will be a joint venture with Washington College … and we’re excited about that. I think that it has the potential to be really ambitious and really cool.”
Speaking of ambition, Tilghman conveyed that town managers are just starting to talk about the need for a public restroom in town. While discussion is in its earliest stages, Tilghman said, he feels this presents an opportunity for a different approach to this type of project.
“This is a bug I’m putting in everyone’s ear,” he said. “If the town does establish a permanent public restroom, which I think would be great for the town, it should be full of local artists’ art. The tile should be [created] by all local ceramics people. And the fittings and fixtures should be, too,” he continued, saying the town is also blessed with talented local metal workers.
“It should be one of the coolest public bathrooms in Maryland.”
Find the current Woicke Collection walking tour map and additional locational information about all of Chestertown’s public sculptures at chestertownpublicarts.com
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