Phoenix
       Art


A Quarterly
Publication
of the
Phoenix Office of
Arts and Culture

Summer 2004
Volume VI

Table of Contents

Phoenix Office of
Arts and Culture

City Council

Phoenix Arts and Culture Commission

Arts Commission Staff

Send questions, comments, or ideas to Andrea Galyean, editor, Phoenix Arts

Phoenix Office of
Arts and Culture
200 W. Washington, 10th Fl
Phoenix, AZ 85003-1697

Call (602) 495 – 0196
Fax (602) 262 – 6914 TTYRelay: 602-534-5500

PHOENIX OFFICE OF ARTS AND CULTURE UNVEILS SCULPTURE HONORING GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER

A larger-than-life bronze sculpture of George Washington Carver was dedicated on February 15, 2004 at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center. The statue, by artist Ed Dwight, presents the pioneering African-American educator and agricultural researcher wearing his trademark suit and apron and is mounted on a pedestal inscribed with four quotations by Carver. The work, which will greet visitors at the entrance of the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, is a project of the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture’s Public Art Program and was paid for through Cultural Facilities and Historic Preservation Percent for Art Funds from the 2001 Citizens Bond Program.

Artist Ed Dwight earned an aeronautical degree from ASU and served as a US Air Force test pilot and America’s first black astronaut-in-training before pursuing his interest in art. His Colorado foundry is now one of the most respected in the nation. He was selected for this project through a competitive national process juried by a community selection panel.

 
Detail of sculpture at George Washington Carver Museum
- photo by Tim Lanterman

Phil Jones, Executive Director of the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture, states “We are very pleased that Ed Dwight was selected for this important project. Ed is known and respected for his sculptural representations of significant historic figures. His sensitive depiction of George Washington Carver will greet visitors to the Museum and highlight the Museum’s mission of promoting appreciation of African-American culture.”

George Washington Carver (1864-1943) is one of the nation’s most celebrated scientists and educators. His interest in botany and desire to improve the lives of the rural poor led him to develop over 300 uses for the peanut and over 100 for the sweet potato. He earned degrees from what is now Iowa State University and taught there and at the Tuskegee Institute, where, at the invitation of Booker T. Washington, he served as Director of the Department of Agriculture and of the Agricultural Experiment Station.

George Washington Carver High School opened in 1926 as Phoenix Union Colored High School. The school’s name was changed after Carver’s death in 1943. The school was closed in 1954 but the building has a new life as the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, which commemorates the African-American experience. The facility is being renovated in partnership with the City of Phoenix with $2.1 million in funds from the 2001 Citizens Bond Program.

The George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, located at 415 East Grant Street in downtown Phoenix, houses a library, a multi-purpose event space, an art gallery and historical exhibits. Call 602-254-7516 or visit www.gwcm.org for more information.