Portal Dedication in Kendrick Park, Amherst, MA

Terry Rooney, forme & sculptor Matt Evald Johson with Portal Sculpture in Kendrick Park -
 Photo credit Rene Theberge

When I first moved to Amherst, MA in the early 90's, I was disappointed that in this rich artistic community there was no permanent contemporary sculpture in any of the parks in town. When I become Chair of the Amherst Public Arts Commission it was one of my goals to make sculpture part of the landscape in this town. Yesterday, this dream became a reality with the dedication of Matt Evald Johnson's sculpture the Portal in Kendrick Park. We (the Amherst Public Arts Commission) raised the funds to make this a permanent installation in this town park. Many people contributed time, money and energy to make this a reality including the Business Improvement District which gave us a challenge grant of $3500 to get us started. Many thanks also goes to my former committee members, especially Rene Theberge now chair of the Public Arts Commission for finishing the work I started ,Bonnie Isman who helped writing grants, Rachel Hankinson, who did helped with logistics! Thanks to all the community members, too numerous to list here for making this dream a reality.