The Colusa County Board of Supervisors on June 6 approved the installation of new interactive art and literary displays at each of the seven branches in the Colusa County Free Library system.
Colusa artist Mark Vargo has been commissioned to install interactive sculptures at the Colusa, Maxwell, Princeton, Williams, Arbuckle, Grimes, and Stonyford libraries.
The sculptures will be touchable and relatable to children and people of all ages, said Colusa County Library Director Stacey Costello.
Costello has long promoted the importance of public art in rural spaces, which began with the painted book drops at each of the library branches, followed by the Mary Winters Memorial Mural at the main branch in Colusa.
“This will be our third public arts project at the libraries,” Costello said.
The new interactive artwork will be funded from a grant from Upstate California Creative Corps and the Friends of the Colusa County Free Library.
Costello said she had not yet learned of the grant amount, as of the meeting, but the project would be scaled to any amount granted and supplemented by Friends.
“The project will not cost the county anything,” she said.
Each project will be unique to each library and pull from the local environment.
Vargo is a fine artist, a writer, and has shown his work across the country. He is a new resident, whose wife, Joryy, grew up in Colusa.
“The first thing I realized when I moved here is that the beauty of the local landscape is so different from what I was used to growing up on the east coast,” Vargo said. “I quickly realized there was a lot of opportunity to celebrate the local flora and fauna of this community through art.”
Vargo said he was looking forward to sharing his work with Colusa County through his partnership with the library on this project. The interactive sculpture will be accessible to all and will be for all ages.
The sculptures will also allow the public to create their own “collage-like” images.
“I think it will be a special experience for anyone who visits one of the library branches,” Vargo said. “They can kind of make their own piece of artwork and take a photo with it and share it. I think it’s a great way to draw people into the library and celebrate the local environment.”
The permanent sculptures will be made of durable material that is expected to last for many years. ■