WestGate Celebrates Bison-tennial

March 23, 2016

DSC_0311Source: Bison Art Project Indiana Bison Art Project makes its way to Daviess County, and will be displayed at WestGate Academy. WestGate@Crane, IN – March 21, 2016- The Indiana Bison Art Project travels to Daviess County and will display one of the state’s bison art projects at WestGate Academy. WestGate Academy Conferencing & Training Center is hosting the bison for Indiana's statewide Bison-tennial Public Art Project. The Public Art Project is an officially approved Legacy Project celebrating Indiana's Bicentennial. This project is organized by Indiana Association of United Ways (IaUW) and has a goal of displaying these white, 5-foot-tall bison all over the Hoosier State. The bison currently displayed at WestGate Academy is representative of Daviess County, and is currently a blank canvas waiting to be decorated. DSC_0313Bicentennial Projects Coordinator Heather Davis says the event is meant to bring people together. 'The intent of the project is to encourage Hoosiers to display their county pride and help to celebrate Indiana’s 200th Statehood Day this year on December 11th. With a goal of at least one large fiberglass bison in each of Indiana’s 92 counties, we hope that our United Ways and their community partners will succeed in generating excitement in their communities by finding creative ways to engage area residents and visitors alike!' Davis says this project will benefit the people of Daviess County. 'We hope this project will generate excitement and community pride for all Daviess County residents as we celebrate our state’s Bicentennial. We believe this public art will leave a lasting impact in the community to be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike, while hopefully providing once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for those involved in the design of the Daviess County bison! Also, with the project website (www.indianabisonart.org) and statewide media surrounding the project, we feel there is a strong possibility of increased visitors to Daviess County as Hoosiers and other visitors aim to visit the bison statewide!' Davis says this project will bring out creativity across the state in various aspects.DSC_0315 'As each artist and design is local to each county, we are seeing a fantastic array of artists being involved in this project: from young amateur artists getting their name out there, to local school art classes and even a nationally-acclaimed artist who has been featured at the Smithsonian! This is exceeding our dreams of highlighting not just each county’s history and contributions to our great state of Indiana, but also the amazing artistic talent we possess statewide! We are energized by the partnerships and collaborations this project has promoted in each county and look forward to celebrating the Bicentennial in a unified way.' DSC_0312The public is invited to view the bison at WestGate Academy. These bison art pieces will be displayed along the Bicentennial Torch Relay route from September 9 through October 15, 20106. For more on the relay, visit this website: http://www.in.gov/ibc/torchrelay/ For more information about the bison art project, visit this website: http://www.iauw.org/bison/index.htm To learn more about the bicentennial celebrations, visit this website: http://www.in.gov/ibc/