Fostering Connections

This fall, in a partnership between the Watauga Arts Council and Watauga County Board of Commissioners, public servants placed sculptures by local artists along the Middle Fork Greenway. Nearby creatives Zach Smith-Johnson and Cindy Michaud crafted the installations. Smith-Johnson is the former co-director of WNC Sculpture; his nearly-30-foot metallic, solar-powered sculpture has been placed at the entrance to the greenway. Michaud contributed mosaic story posts in tandem with the area’s Girl Scouts program. 
 
Middle Fork is a partially-complete, multi-use trail that is set to connect to the Boone Greenway; when completed, it will create a link between Blowing Rock and Boone, the region’s most populated towns. By placing art installations along the greenway, the board hopes to increase awareness of its expansion. Joe Furman, director of economic development with the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce, proposed the project as a way to utilize grant money that the chamber received from the Appalachian Regional Commission. boonechamber.com