‘Wishing Tree’ sculpture installed at Austin Aspires

Published 6:29 pm Friday, December 17, 2021

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The Wishing Tree sculpture created at this year’s 4th Avenue Fest is touring Austin locations before installation at its permanent home in the new Austin Community Action Building.

A six-foot-tall metal weeping willow tree, “Wishing Tree” was created by artist Sara Hanson, who designed the tree, worked with local leaders to create animal sculptures among the branches and hosted the public in creating custom metal leaves at her Wow! Mobile Metal Lab on June 16.

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The finished sculpture was revealed on Sept. 12, at the Hormel Institute as part of Welcoming Week 2021.

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On Dec. 6, the sculpture moved to the Austin Aspires office where it will be on display through Feb. 2. The sculpture will be exhibited at the SPAM Museum, Austin High School, Mayo Clinic Health System Austin and the Austin Public Library in 2022.

The sculpture will be permanently installed in the Austin Community Action Building which is under construction adjacent to the Parenting Resource Center / Michael H. Seibel Family Visitation & Exchange Center. The Austin Community Action Building is scheduled to be completed in the fall and will house the Welcome Center, Children’s Dental Health and programs of the Parenting Resource Center.

“Our PRC team has identified art as a way to build connections between our organization and the community. We want the artwork selected to be a representation of the community, and this tree sculpture which speaks to our efforts,” said Gema Alvarado-Guerrero, executive director of the Parenting Resource Center.

The sculpture project was created by the City of Austin Culture and Arts Commission and is funded by a Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC) grant for $5,000.