Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition partners with the Downtown Boone Development Association (DBDA) Public Art Program

This year for the first time, the Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition program partners with the Downtown Boone Development Association's (DBDA) Public Art Program to offer two additional sculptors a chance to participant in the Rosen program with the Community Choice Award. This new addition to the program has been made possible with to the continued generosity of Martin and Doris Rosen, which provided support for this partnership.

Jon Howson and Douglas M. Gruizenga, have joined the Rosen Program and have placed their work off campus in downtown Boone. The partnership, says Mary Ella Baker, the DBDA's Public Art Program Director, is significant for the town as well as for the university. "I am thrilled about the DBDA Public Art Program's recent partnership with the Rosen Sculpture Program," says Baker, "This partnership reinforces ASU's and the Town of Boone's involvement in and dedication to western North Carolina's growing arts community. The Rosen Sculpture Program is a well-established program that has proven its effectiveness through its outstanding staff, the program's popularity as part of An Appalachian Summer Festival and the talented artists who participate in the annual competition. The Public Art Program is proud to take part in this exceptional program."

The DBDA Public Art Program collaborates with the Watauga County Arts Council and the Public Art Committee to provide public art for downtown Boone. The Public Art Program's goals include the addition of sculptures, downtown gateways, murals and streetscape improvements in the downtown area. The residents of Boone have been promoting a thriving arts community for years and care deeply about investing in downtown Boone's future; public art is a fantastic outlet for emphasizing our civic pride and Boone's unique cultural character.