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Chapungu Sculpture Park Now Complete An
African stone art oasis in Loveland has been created at the Chapungu
Sculpture Park at Centerra. McWhinney is excited to announce the
completion of the 26-acre Chapungu Sculpture Park at Centerra,
located just east of the Promenade Shops at Centerra.
The Chapungu Sculpture Park at Centerra is the
first permanent exhibit of its kind in the United States. The stone
sculptures of Zimbabwe, promoted by Chapungu Sculpture Park since
the 1970’s, has been described as the most important art development
in Africa. In particular, the Chapungu collection is recognized as
establishing the importance and validity of contemporary African
art.
The park features 82 stone sculptures from the
Shona tribe of Zimbabwe, Africa. Each distinctive sculpture is hand
made from indigenous stones from Zimbabwe, the native country of Roy
Guthrie and Marcey Mushore, curators of the park's collection. The
exhibit at Centerra is titled, “Chapungu: Stories in Stone - An
African Perspective of Family."
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“Our purpose at McWhinney is to create great places for people. Chapungu
Sculpture Park at Centerra embodies this purpose by bringing a new
opportunity for solitude, cultural awareness, and education to Centerra.
We are thrilled with how the park turned out and believe the community
will be too,” said Chad McWhinney, CEO and Co-Founder, McWhinney.
Extensive site work, which includes major landscape planting, trail
construction, and educational signage, was installed in preparation for
the park’s opening. A major grand-opening celebration is being planned
for Spring 2008.
McWhinney donated the land for Chapungu Sculpture Park and advanced
funding for the park improvements. The infrastructure costs are
eligible for Centerra Metro District reimbursement in the future.
Chapungu Sculpture Park at Centerra will help enhance Loveland’s arts
reputation, being among the top eight “Great Art Destinations” in the
United States by U.S. Art magazine. With Chapungu Sculpture Park’s
completion, Loveland will feature approximately 350 sculptures in both
public and private collections that are open for viewing.
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CHAPUNGU SCULPTURE PARK AT CENTERRA FACTS
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26 acres.
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Park constructed in 18 months (March 2006-September 2007).
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82 Shona sculptures, with heights up to 11 feet and weights
from 600 to 5000 lbs.
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Sculpture curators: Roy Guthrie and Marcey Mushore, Chapungu
Gallery owners.
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Plantings included over 600 trees (20 different species),
over 2,300 native shrubs, and over 7,000 ornamental grasses.
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Over 20,000 square feet of mulch, 1.75 acres of sod, and
approximately 1,700 yards of compost from Waste Not Recycling
were used.
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Spotted wildlife includes deer, geese, ducks, songbirds,
raccoons, fox, and frogs. A moose was spotted during Summer
2006.
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1.5 miles of concrete pathway/fine gravel trail.
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114 signs were installed at Chapungu Sculpture Park
including main, entry, directional, interpretive, and sculpture
identification. Signs are constructed out of concrete and
aluminum with LED lighting.
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Landscape Architect: DTJ Design, Inc. (Boulder).
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Civil Engineer – Northern Engineering.
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Sign Program Architect/Designer: Gensler.
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Sign contractor: DaVinci Sign Systems, Inc.
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30 benches, gathering plazas, and sitting areas.
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Two bridges, 11 access paths into the park (6 originating
from the Promenade Shops).
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Certain paths and sculptures are illuminated in the evening.
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Restroom on site.
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Dog-friendly water fountain.
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Local contractors include: CoCal Landscaping, Gregory
Electric, GE Construction, Coulson Excavating, Schmidt Earth
Builders, Terry’s Stone Masonry, and DaVinci Sign Systems.
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Other local ingredients include sculpture stone bases,
landscape boulders, and stonework on bridge abutments from
Masonville’s Arkins Quarry. Also, the pedestrian bridge in the
park was manufactured by Big R Manufacturing in Greeley.
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More information and a walking map available at
www.centerracolorado.com.
About Chapungu
For the past 48 years, Zimbabwe stone sculpture has been a
contemporary art phenomenon that played a significant role in the
development of art in Africa. Roy Guthrie established Chapungu
Sculpture Park in 1970 (originally called The Gallery Shona
Sculpture). It was the first private gallery in Zimbabwe dedicated
to promoting stone sculpture created by the Shona people of the
Republic of Zimbabwe. Since 1970, Chapungu has been foremost in the
promotion of this art form and has run almost all the major
exhibitions throughout the world. Collection, preservation,
promotion, encouragement, and documentation have been Chapungu’s
main role since 1980. For more info, please visit www.chapungusculpturepark.com. |
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