5 sculptures for Joliet’s Summer of Stone and Steel to be unveiled Thursday

The Art Movement in Joliet will unveil five sculptures Thursday night for its second annual summer sculpture exhibition and raffle.

The five sculptures for the “Summer of Steel and Stone” exhibition will be unveiled at 6 p.m. at Juliet’s Tavern at 205 North Chicago St. in Joliet

Admission and hors d’oeuvres are free. A cash bar will also be available. About 150 people attended last year’s event, said Hudson Hollister, a member of The Art Movement’s board. The sculptures, which stand between 3 and 5 feet tall, and explore Joliet’s heritage of steel and stone “in diverse and beautiful ways.”

“We have a complex, sometimes triumphant and sometimes traumatic history in this town, a heritage that our artists can draw on to create pieces that speak to our roots and speak to our universal truths,” Hollister said.

The Art Movement in Joliet commissioned six artists for these five sculptures: Angelica Aguilar, Kelly Bartels, Erick “Roho” Garcia, Brittanie Roussea and the two-person team of Alicia Diamond and Sarah Potter.

Hollister said the artists had applied for the commission, had two months to complete the sculpture and were each paid $1,000.

He said purpose of the sculptures and the exhibition is to foster connections between the art community, the business community, the community overall and to promote economic growth.

“Look at all the places in this country fostering economic growth,” Hollister said. “In every single one of these, you will see people are patrons of the arts and people who are practitioners of the arts, and you’ll see patrons and practitioners collaborating together. We have that in Joliet.”

Guests may also enter a raffle to win one of the five sculptures no later than Sept. 30, Hollister said.

For the rest of the summer, local businesses will display all five sculptures for one week at a time, Hollister said. Two have committed so far: Michuda Construction in Tinley Park and H. Date in downtown Joliet, which Hollister owns.

Proceeds from the raffle will defray the commission costs and fund Art Movement programs.

“It’s really out of hope that when we exhibit these sculptures around town, we bring more interest,” Hollister said, “and that the people, the lucky winners who end up taking ownership of the sculptures, will want to display them in such a way that other people can enjoy them.”

Sponsors for the event are City of Joliet Arts Commission, the Joliet Township government and the City Center Partnership.

For information, visit eventbrite.com and artmovementjoliet.org.