SO WE NEVER FORGET AMANDA KIRWIN
PFW has provided a grant to help erect a sculpture of the now extinct Woodlands Bison – which was native to Ohio – to be created by environmental artist, Jim Swain, in memory of 14 year old, Amanda Kirwin who was shot dead in her Franklinton neighborhood on Dana Avenue in August 2014. “Police don’t believe Kirwin was the intended target of the shooter…. Friends of Kirwin say the teen didn’t deserve to die. A friend of Amanda…says she doesn’t want to remember her friend for how she was taken from her life, but rather how Kirwin lived her life. She was outgoing (and) funny. She always knew how to keep a smile on her face. Following the murder tearful neighbors raked away debris and weeds replacing the ugliness with flowers, teddy bears, and candles.”*
HER CLASSMATES AT THE FRANKLINTON PREP SCHOOL FOUNDED THE DANA AMBASSADOR PROGRAM TO CONTINUE TO REMOVE LITTER FROM DANA AVENUE. This goal will be continued as the Franklinton Board of Trade’s project of the sculpture will be built using a metal skin with diamond shape openings that allow viewers to see inside of the sculpture, which will be filled with trash from Dana Avenue.
The goal of the artist is to partner with local organizations to raise awareness and inspire action together! This sculpture will create more opportunities for people to get involved to protect the environment! Environmental Sculptures provide a great way to engage citizens and increase involvement for community cleanups that also may help to limit crime. The Prep School will be involved in this hands-on activity in memory of their friend. We applaud the Franklinton Board of Trade as this type of activist art encourages stewardship of the earth.
Here are the four engaging aspects of this beautiful project that will stand for a long time on West Broad Street in the heart of historic Franklinton
1) Clean! Volunteers participate in a community clean up
2) Create! Participants fill the sculpture with the litter collected
3) Celebrate! The community gathers to celebrate their efforts and the installation of the sculpture, which represents keeping our earth free of debris!
4) Commit yourself to be a citizen against gun violence in Ohio!
*From the Columbus Dispatch article
Franklinton Board of Trade, City’s Keep Columbus Beautiful and Community Partners To Dedicate Souder-Davis Garden with Life Size Trash – Filled Bison Sculpture on Friday, October 14, 2016. Bison will roam again on West Broad Street in Franklinton as community guests gather to dedicate The Franklinton Botanical Sculpture Garden created from repurposed drain tiles on a previously vacant flower bed located between Souder & Davis streets. A remaining sign post will be the new site for a life-size wire sculpture of a wood bison. Designed by Environmental Sculptures of South Carolina, the life-size wire sculpture will be filled with colorful trash and debris to serve as a permanent statement about litter as a detriment to people’s quality of life and wildlife. A series of hand-painted icons on tile by Franklinton Preparatory Academy art students depicts the bison’s historic relationship to the founding of Franklinton. INNOCENT LIVES LOST MUST NOT BE FORGOTTEN.
