BPAA History

“How can we bring more public art to Baraboo?” That was a question City Administrator Ed Geick raised in 2011 with Mayor Pat Liston. When Mayor Mike Palm was elected in 2012, he discussed the idea with a few prospective leaders, and, after getting consensus on the concept, appointed a City ad hoc committee to pursue the idea further. Those appointees and a few more became the hub around which Baraboo Public Art Association (BPAA) was created. By August 2013 the group adopted bylaws to create a new local non-profit “to promote, sponsor and provide public Art in the City of Baraboo that celebrates the history, geography and cultural heritage of the City of Baraboo.” Public artworks developed by Baraboo Public Art Association become permanent property of the City. Over the ensuing years, the most significant role of the Baraboo Public Art Association has been to leverage the funds to make major projects possible. Funding for projects comes from grants, individual gifts, and fundraising.

The first sculpture, “Captain Henry Every,” an original work by the late Tom Every (aka, “Dr. Evermore,” donated by his wife Eleanor Every), was installed along the Baraboo River Walk in October 2013.

The first major mural project began in late 2014 in cooperation with Downtown Baraboo, Inc. Bernie and Sue Poff designed the set of four local history murals and then managed open invitation painting days for the community. A public celebration in October 2015 marked the installation of the large murals on the walls of the CenturyLink Building at the corner of Third and Ash Streets.

The Fabric of Community mural project at the corner of Third and Oak Streets and at the nearby parking lot in the 100 block of Third Street was conceived as way to enhance public space, honor local people of various backgrounds, and raise funds for BPAA. The criteria for being featured on a mural panel was straightforward: anyone could be honored, a brief paragraph written in longhand had to be submitted to be used as part of the background of the figure, and a payment for the portrait, part of which was paid to the artist and part of which became a donation to BPAA for future artworks. Artist Kelly Meredith of Butternut, Wisconsin, painted all the portraits and the Deppe family offered the location and covered the cost of panel installation. Painting began in April 2016 and concluded May 2019. Over the course of the Fabric of Community project several large public gatherings celebrated the lives of those featured on the murals. Although the portrait portion of the project is now closed, the public continue to honor others with a “quilt square”, a hand-lettered memorial block on the larger mural.

Myron Park is a long, narrow City property near the public swimming pool on South Boulevard. Mayor Palm envisioned a sculpture park that could be seen by drivers passing by on the busy street. The first sculpture, a small open-structure elephant filled with local quartzite created by Will Turnbull, was installed in November 2017. Then, as they say, one elephant led to another. Thanks to a local donor and Iowa sculptor Larry Pearson, a mother elephant named “Lucy” was installed July 2018, followed by twin elephant babies “Norah and Noah” July 2019. The leader of the elephant herd, “Kelly,” was created by Lodi sculptor Dean Allen and installed September 2020.

Another mural, located in the south parking lot of the Baraboo Civic Center, was designed by high school student Isabella Martinez. “Following the Baraboo River” is a set of six panels depicting her memories of school lessons about local ecology and family outings. It was painted by the designer and other student volunteers in the summer of 2020. In mid-May 2020 BPAA was given an extraordinary opportunity: an anonymous donor pledged $10,000 if BPAA could match the amount to establish a permanent fund in the Community Foundation of South Central Wisconsin. Despite it being a pandemic year, BPAA board members were able to meet the challenge by May 2021.

BPAA will continue to work with funders, donors, and area artists to bring major permanent artworks, as well as smaller, temporary projects, to spark the creative spirit of Baraboo.