Nick Hollibaugh and Joshua Enck - winners of the Pawtucket Gateway Design Competition
The City of Pawtucket and the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley Historic Heritage Corridor are pleased to announce that the team of Nick Hollibaugh and Joshua Enck is the winner of the Pawtucket Gateway Design Competition. Their design for a new sculpture to be located in front of the Visitor Center on the corner of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Pawtucket was selected by a panel of jurors from three finalists in the competition. The artists created a sculpture they named “Canter and Shed”, a pair of painted metal structures designed to recall smokestacks, buttresses, and rooftop landscapes, inspired by the buildings of Pawtucket.
Artists Donald Gerola and Kenneth Speiser, were also selected by a jury of design professionals to participate in the competition based upon the strength of their portfolios and body of experience. All three of the entries created scale models of their concepts ranging from three feet to five feet high which represented sculptures that would be up to 30 feet high.
The artists worked for the past 5 months developing concepts and creating scale models which are currently on display in the Visitor Center, 175 Main St., Pawtucket. Awards of $1,500 each have been presented to the three participants for their design work. The team of Nick Hollibaugh and Joshua Enck will receive an additional $4,500 for winning the competition and preparing construction drawings for the fabrication of the sculpture.
The Competition was sponsored by the City of Pawtucket and the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley Historic Heritage Corridor Commission. The focus of the competition was to create an innovative design inspired by the Blackstone River, Blackstone Valley, Industrial Revolution and the Pawtucket Arts and Entertainment District that responds to the unique diversity of the city’s architecture and urban landscape. The budget for the sculpture is $50,000 which will be raised from private donors.
The City of Pawtucket has become well known for the Annual Pawtucket Arts Festival and its commitment to the visual and performing arts. At the heart of the arts movement is the Visitor Center where the sculpture will be located. The Visitor Center houses two art galleries, a theater company, a movie theater and is host to numerous art and public events throughout the year. The Visitor Center serves the City of Pawtucket, the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley Historic Heritage Corridor, the Slater Mill Historic Site (birthplace of the Industrial Revolution), and it is an official Tourism Center for the State of RI.
The panel of jurors that selected the finalists and the competition winner includes James Barnes, Prof. of Architecture, RISD; Howard Ben Tré, Sculptor; Roseann Evans, Professor of Architecture, Roger Williams University; Luke Mandle , Architect, Two Ton; Martha Werenfels, Architect, of Durkee, Brown, Viveiros, Werenfels, Architects.