In Beaufort, top artists paint benches. You could finance this ‘functional art.’
Beaufort’s Art Bench Project, a celebration of the city’s history and culture, is continuing with a third round, but sponsors are needed.
The sturdy benches are built by Lowcountry Habitat for Humanity, then painted by local artists. Sponsors, who pay a $750 fee, can select the artist, but they must own the property where the bench will be located, or have permission to place the bench there.
The project, launched in 2019, has produced a dozen benches that are now sprinkled throughout the downtown Beaufort Cultural Arts District. In past years, benches have been painted to commemorate Santa Elena, the Spanish fort and city founded on Parris Island in 1566; the founding of the Mather School in 1868 to teach daughters of freed slaves; the Tabernacle Baptist Church, the first Black Baptist church in Beaufort; and the Reconstruction Era.
“I think it’s a wonderful way to make art,” Linda Silk Sviland, who painted benches in both 2020 and 2021, said in a news release. “Other cities have done beautiful sculptures, but there is no function other than beauty. This is functional art — it’s a terrific way to have the public see art that is useful.”
The deadline to submit an application as sponsor, as well as the proposed bench artwork, is March 4. Sponsors do not have to be located in the Cultural District to apply.
How to apply
The application can be found here: https://www.cityofbeaufort.org/571/Art-Bench-Project.
