WASHOUGAL — If you’ve strolled around Washougal recently, you may have noticed a few pieces of public art popping up here and there over the past few years.
Petroglyph sculptures jazz up Washougal’s otherwise minimalist SR-14 Pedestrian Tunnel, which connects downtown Washougal with Steamboat Landing Park. A sculpture of Seaman, the Newfoundland dog that accompanied Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery Expedition begs children to come and visit Washougal’s Reflection Plaza, and the city’s tiny Beaver Park, located at the western end of A Street, includes three different pieces of public art.
“We are proud of all the wonderful works of art in Washougal and we want everyone to know about and enjoy them,” says Janice Ferguson, president of the Washougal Arts and Culture Alliance (WACA).
Ferguson’s group recently released its “Discover Washougal Art Map.” The map replicates Washougal’s downtown streets and gives visitors a pictorial guide to 25 different pieces of public art located within the city.
Want to take a self-guided, walking art tour? Download the new art map on your phone and pick a starting point. The WACA website offers even more details about the various pieces of art, pointing out the artists who created the sculptures, bronze busts and stained glass windows.
The new maps, created by dStudio 21 of Washougal and funded by Washougal’s hotel/motel tax funds, feature the new WACA logo created by artist Deb McCarroll, and are available online, as well as at various locations throughout Washougal, including City Hall, the library, the Washougal Information Center at Two Rivers Heritage Museum, the Port of Camas/Washougal, the Camas-Washougal Chamber office and the Post-Record newspaper office. A printable version of map can be found at www.washougalarts.org.
Ferguson says the map will be updated as necessary.
“The map currently features 25 pieces of art, and we plan to create regular updates to the map as WACA and the community help bring more public art to Washougal,” she says.
Formed in 2014 to “enrich and engage [the Washougal] community through the display and support of local artists’ work,” WACA raises funds with its nonprofit partner, the Parks Foundation of Clark County, to increase public art offerings throughout the city of Washougal. All donations to WACA are tax-deductible.
WACA will host its Second annual Washougal Art Festival in Reflection Plaza on Sat., Aug. 12, 2017. For more information, visit washougalartfestival.org.
