Blue Butterfly will make its entrance Aug. 23

The Blue Butterfly will soon make it’s landing at the Sampson Community College.

After taking home first place for the Sampson Community College’s Public Art Contest, it has been revealed that the Blue Butterfly by Benson and Sons will be installed on Friday, Aug. 23 around 10:30 a.m., replacing the existing public art on the campus.

Lisa Turlington confirmed that the Waterdrop will be removed by Hanna Jubran at 10 a.m. and then Benson and Sons will install their sculpture during the transition.

“We are thrilled to have another N.C. sculpture on our campus. The Butterfly was the overwhelming winner in the public art vote this year, so I think it will be embraced by the community. It will be a fun, whimsical piece for campus visitors to enjoy,” Turlington said.

The sculpture is a 14-foot tall metal butterfly. It will be on display in East Park on the college’s campus, at the intersection of N.C. 24 and Airport Road.

The second-place sculpture, Midsummer by Jubran, will be installed at the All-America City Park in downtown Clinton Wednesday, Aug. 14 at 10 a.m.

“Midsummer is a sculpture created to identify a moment of celebration in nature. The use of color and form embodies growth, playfulness, and change. Red and Orange represents the warmth and growth period of Summer. The blue is water,” Mary Rose, the planning and development director for Clinton, noted in a release.

The idea to display more art throughout Clinton was brought up after the City of Clinton adopted its Economic Development Strategy Plan. According to Rose’s email, there was a push to include more public art at the time after seeing larger cities like Fayetteville and Goldsboro use rotating sculptures to attract more people.

The City of Cliton, Sampson Community College, the SCC Foundation and the Sampson Arts Council partnered to create a public art committee to bring the idea to reality. The council made a call out to artists to submit their proposals for temporary art that could be showcased in Clinton.

Blue Butterfly won this year’s contest with 75 percent of the total votes cast.