City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs to Dedicate a Public Art Installation Reflecting the Life of Noted Civil Rights Attorney Isabel Gates Webster.

"Yes, We Can" designed by Award-Winning Sculptor Robert D. Clements incorporates 250 ceramic tiles designed and painted by Atlanta's Peyton Elementary School students.

Date: Wednesday, March 3rd 2010
Time: 12:30PM
Artwork Location: Isabel Gates Webster Park (275 Peyton Road SW, Atlanta, GA 30311)
Reception Location: TBD

Camille Russel Love, Director of the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs, Clarence T. “C.T.” Martin, Atlanta City Councilman (District 10), Louversia Wiggins, NPU-I, Karen Webster, daughter of Isabel Gates-Webster and former Fulton County Commissioner, and Karen Barlow-Brown, Principal of Peyton Forest Elementary School will host the public art dedication of “Yes, We Can” on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 12:30pm. Designed by noted sculptor, Robert D.Clements, the dedication marks the fifth of six commissions installed under the Atlanta “Community Gateway Project”. Isabel Gates Webster Park adjoins Peyton Forest Elementary School and, inaddition to Principal Karen Barlow-Brown, the entire student body will be present for the dedication.

“Yes, We Can”, the kinetic 18’ tall structure adorned with twenty leaping ‘running’ figures, serves as a gateway element to Isabel Gates Webster Park. Covered in 250 ceramic tiles designed by students from Atlanta’s Peyton Forest Elementary School, the artwork chronicles the life of former Civil Rights attorney Isabel Gates Webster, who, under the administration of former Governor Jimmy Carter, became the first woman to be appointed to the Georgia State Personnel Board.

“Like many of my sculptures, 'Attaining Goals' for the Rosel Fann Recreation Center and 'Dancing at Indian Creek' for Atlanta’s Indian Creek MARTA Station, this piece shows leaping figures that symbolize the reach for attainment,” says Clements. “Isabel Gates Webster believed that all Americans should have equal opportunity to realize their dreams. Her life stood for ‘running to attain a goal’ and this design acknowledges and celebrates her contribution to legal justice and civil rights for Atlanta’s working people and people of the world.”

Atlanta’s Public Art Program is administered by the Office of Cultural Affairs, Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs and is supported by one and one half percent of capital project funding set aside for the inclusion of public art in municipal projects. The Isabel Gates-Webster public art installation is one of six commissions administrated by the Public Art Program for the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs 2005 Greenspace and Recreation Opportunity Bond program. All artworks commissioned by the City of Atlanta Public Art Program’s 2005 Greenspace and Recreation Opportunity Bond serve as a portal into Atlanta’s historic neighborhoods.

About Robert D. Clements

Robert D. Clements is an award-winning Sculptor and Public Artist recognized by Who’s Who in American Art and Who’s Who in America. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, he received his BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and his graduate art degrees from Pennsylvania State University. As an art instructor for twenty-five years at the University of Georgia, he won the University’s highest awards for his teaching and research. His sculptures have been commissioned by The City of Atlanta five times since 1987and his work has exhibited and been collected by the most noted museums and corporations in the country. In addition to his work as a sculptor, he has written 3 books and 60 articles and directed several grant projects.

About The Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA)

The OCA, a division of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, was established in 1974 to encourage and support Atlanta's cultural resources. The initial mission was to solidify the role that arts and other cultural resources play indefining and enhancing the social fabric and quality of life of Atlanta citizens and visitors. Today the OCA is working to enhance Atlanta's reputation as a cultural destination. The OCA supports programs that educate and expose the public to a rich and diverse range of cultural expressions through a variety of initiatives.

About The Opportunity Bond Municipal Art Projects

In 2005, Mayor Franklin challenged the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs (DPRCA) to invigorate parks and recreation facilities through the 2005 Greenspace and Recreation Opportunity Bond. The department took up the challenge and initiated an aggressive plan to install art in Atlanta’s parks. The Public Art Program team, led by Eddie Granderson, developed temporary art projects in 11 parks, managed the selection process, contracted artists to develop five gateways in neighborhood parks and commissioned a major mural for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District. The “Community Gateway Project” represents the installation of public artworks in five distinct communities. New public art was installed in Adair I, Cleopas R. Johnson, Isabel Gates Webster, South Bend and Southside Parks. These public art installations serve as gateways to the parks and neighborhoods and are now a part of Atlanta’s landscape.