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Downtown Wilson, NC Wilson Down town Development Corporation, Wilson Downtown Properties the North Caro lina Arts Council, along with State and local officials announced the creation of a Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in Downtown Wilson. A new two-acre public park will be dedicated to the permanent conservation and enjoyment of 32 large-scale whirli gigs created by internationally renowned local artist Wollis Simpson, providing a catalyst for significant cultural economic development in Wilson. The Wollis Simp son Whirligig Park will be located on a two-acre lot bordered by Goldsboro, Douglas and South streets, across from the Hi-Dollar Warehouse. Simpson, 91, has lived his entire life in Lucama, lo cated in Wilson County. Simpson is one of the state’s most recognized artists. “Planning is well underway for the new Wallis Simpson Whirligig Park in downtown Wilson. Documentation of the Whirligigs in the Simpson field via inven tory and film are almost complete thanks to a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council. As well, a community-wide Whirligig Park Project Planning Com mittee, Whirligig Park National Advisory Board and Fundraising Sub-committee have been diligently working to estab lish an organizational structure through which to create the Park and secure financial resources to realize the project. We are beginning the process of conceiv ing potential attributes of the Park with design professionals” said Kimberly Van Dyk, Downtown Manager. Three design professionals with signifi cant experience in urban planning, land scape architecture, sustainable design practices, sculpture parks, and knowl edge of eastern North Carolina met and worked in Wilson on July 21 and 22 at the Boykin Center to solicit comments and ideas from stakeholders interested in the project. On July 21, a public pre sentation and discussion was also held at the Boykin Center. The professionals conducting this two day workshop were: Dan Gottlieb, Director of Planning and Design for the North Carolina Art Mu seum in Raleigh; Kofi Boone, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at NC State University in Raleigh; and, Paul Morris, President of Greenleaf Strategies LLC of Raleigh. “Our goal is to complete a preliminary schematic design for the Park that will serve as the basis for a Request for Qualifications that will subsequently be issued to selected landscape and engineering firms and/or teams. Two days were spent looking at maps, photographs, visiting the new site, touring Whirligigs in the Simpson’s field, arranging a three-dimensional model of the Park site, and brainstorming ideas” said Henry Walston, Chair of the Wilson Downtown Development Corporation and Chair of the Whirligig Park Project Planning Committee. For more information see our discus sion page and become a fan of the Wallis Simpson Whirligig Park on Facebook also go to http://whirligigpark.wordpress. com/
Newspaper Details
Wilson Times
Wilson, North Carolina, US
Fri, Jul 23, 2010
Page 23
Full Page
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NC, USA 27 Jun 2026
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