Fayetteville is a community of hellos and goodbyes. With our deep ties to the military, we are adept at wishing our friends well as they travel to the next duty station and welcoming new members for as long as they call Cumberland County “home.” Each summer, the Arts Council of Fayetteville | Cumberland County practices this by removing public art that goes on to its next home and installing new works that will be a part of the community for a year. The Arts Council’s ArtScape is an annual public art series, now in its ninth year, where visitors can view outdoor 3D sculpture all over the city of Fayetteville.
The new pieces installed this summer bring a new, colorful story to Fayetteville. James Futral’s Red Bear now sits proudly outside of the Arts Center, welcoming visitors. Bright silver shines through Hanna Jubran’s Sound of the Elements on Green Street and surrounds City Hall through Jim Gallucci’s Oak Leaf Arch. The multicolored Feather by Kirk Seese looks over Market Square, and the striking Yellow Flower by Loren Costantini cheerfully greets people at the Courthouse. The new ArtScape collection includes interactive pieces as well. Magnify, which sits at the corner of Hay and Ray Streets, allows people to swivel the top of the sculpture to capture sunbeams and reflect a stained-glass effect. Artist Agnes Black hopes that people engage with her piece Through the Heart’s Lens at 201 Hay Street by photographing through the heart-shaped cutout or strumming the guitar strings attached to the sculpture.
Installing the artwork is a challenging puzzle for Arts Council Facilities Manager Chris Walker. Walker has to secure all the pieces so they are safe for the public while placing them throughout the city.
“It's hard, hot work, but while you install them, you get to see the cheerful reactions of people at that moment they see the new works for the first time,” says Walker. In some cases, like the 20-foot tall Water Drop in Festival Park, the installation even takes a crane to lift the piece high in the air. But all the work is worth it to Walker. “Helping to install these sculptures gives me a chance to work with different artists to help bring something beautiful to our community.”
While the Arts Council produces ArtScape each year, the initiative takes the entire community to be successful. No one knows that better than Director of Development Josh Murray.
“ArtScape is the perfect example of how public art can unite a community. Talented artists create attention-grabbing pieces, and individual donors make the artwork publicly accessible through their sponsorship,” says Murray. Individual donors help support the rental cost for each of the pieces selected to be a part of ArtScape. “Together, the artists and donors play a major role in developing the visual identity of Fayetteville, which is a beautiful thing!”
ArtScape mirrors the rhythm of Fayetteville. Stories arrive, settle in, and eventually move on. As new works find a home in our city, they invite us to pause, connect, and see our community through a fresh lens. View ArtScape 9 from now until June, and for more information, visit www.wearethearts.com/artscape9.

(Photo: "Water Drop" by Hanna Jubran stands at Festival Park and is part of ArtScape 9. Photo courtesy of the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County)