Riverspan is modelled after a similar one in Loveland, CO, called Sculpture in the Park, which boasts over $1,000,000 in sales. The Loveland event benefits from an open park in an exclusive neighborhood. In contrast, Riverspan, for example, has needed to tailor-make all its tents due to the unusual bridge size ($100,000 tent costs, according to Bruce Olson, Executive Director) and wrestles with the peculiar stigmatization of Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky relations.
I questioned Olson about the $15 ticket price. But Olson defended it, arguing that the exhibition is for collectors and serious sculpture enthusiasts; such would be willing to pay the cost similar to a movie ticket (the Loveland event, though, costs $5). Also, he did not want the exhibitors to be bombarded by passerbies or ‘riff-raff’, distracting them from serious clientele. You judge.
But for all counts, should this event reach the Loveland scale, there would be big dividends for the region. There are no other major sculpture-only venues.
-A.C. Frabetti
2009 RiverSpan Sculpture Exhibition and Sale, June 19-21, Purple People Bridge, Newport, KY. Visit their web site at http://www.riverspansculpture.org/index.php. The event also featured a full print catalog of participating artists. We hope to offer a more in-depth analysis and full coverage in the future.
