At the front and center of a spacious square in downtown Sanford stands a colorful metal sculpture with two rings between a pair of triangles.
Farther back, alongside the city’s historic 1917 former Post Office building, stand five vibrant paintings, including an artistic collaboration from Sanford’s mayor and a city commissioner showing two sunflowers in front of the sea and beaming rays of sunshine.
The artwork at the newly designated Artisan Square on East First Street is part of an ongoing effort by this Seminole County municipality to brighten up a popular downtown district filled with old-Florida brick buildings, eateries and craft breweries.
Every few months, new artwork by local artists will be displayed at Artisan Square — including sculptures, pop art pieces, and canvases — next to the Sanford Information Center building.
“We want to be more than just breweries and restaurants,” said Virginia Poe, a member of Sanford’s public arts commission, a five-member city board that promotes the visual arts. “Art enhances our community. Art enriches everyone.”
She was among several residents and city officials who took part in Thursday’s ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of the new outdoor gallery.
Sanford now joins other Central Florida cities — including Orlando, Casselberry, and Mount Dora — that have recently embraced displays of public art to brighten their cores and splash a bit of colorful character.
Casselberry, for example, recently completed construction of a new $3.5-million Sculpture House. It’s adjacent to the city’s Art House, which offers exhibits, classes and programs overlooking Lake Concord and just a short walk from City Hall.
In the coming weeks, Sanford officials will begin adorning traffic signal boxes with art along the U.S. Highway 17-2 corridor, considered one of the city’s gateways.
It follows a similar program by the city of Orlando, where officials say the public art on the utility boxes encourages neighborhood pride.
Sanford recently put in place a mural program that allows downtown property owners to decorate the exterior of their commercial buildings. However, property owners have to apply and receive approval from the city’s public arts commission to paint a mural on their buildings in the downtown or historic districts.
At the ribbon cutting for Artisan Square, Mayor Art Woodruff proudly showed off the artwork he completed with Commissioner Kerry Wiggins and local artists Rae Marie and Kim House.
“It’s exciting to see that we’re bringing the arts to Sanford,” he said. “When you come to Sanford, it’s not just about seeing, but also about doing things.”