A new sculpture that signifies inclusivity now complements the Rockford Public Library’s main branch. WNIJ’s Yvonne Boose was there for the reveal that took place Aug. 1.
Dozens of people stood on the corner of 215 N. Wyman to see “Carrying the Dream,” a sculpture that consists of 17 skin tone-colored circles standing tall in front of the building.
Nathan Taylor is one of the seven artists who created the piece. He said the work represents the human family.
“Race is a man-made human construct,” Taylor said. “We have different cultures and everything, but this whole, you know, black, red, white, and everything, that is a construct to put people in different tiers and to divide. And when you break [it] down, the biological fact of it is, we're all the same species.”
Betsy Youngquist is another contributing artist. She said the first thing that jumps out to her are the circles.
“Within the circles are kind of a representation of 'we are all one,' she said. "And then the individual circles that are around those vacant spaces are all different skin tones. So, within our unique qualities and our diversity, there is also unity. So that's what this sculpture paints.”
Mary McNamara Berstein is the executive director of the Rockford Area Arts Council. She said we live in a state (Illinois) that acknowledges the deep-seated racism that our country was founded on.
The work was funded primarily by Healing Illinois. This is a racial healing initiative by the Field Foundation of Illinois and the Illinois Department of Human Services. Other funders include Midland States Bank, Liebovich Steel & Aluminum, Sherwin-Williams, Christina Valdez and Joel Zirkle.
Other contributing artists are Tim Hawley, Nancie King Mertz, Jeremy Klonicki, Scott Long and John McNamara. These artists have a combined mixed background of beadwork, painting, sculpture and other mediums. The process took 14 months, which included several months of talking about the concept and its execution.
