Nine newly-installed art pieces in Downtown Georgetown have been added to the city's revolving Sculpture Tour, a city venture to expose the public to art.

On Thursday, a piece called "Kite," was installed outside the Ninth Street entrance to the Georgetown Public Library, which is also the location of several other Sculpture Tour pieces.

"Kite" was made by South Austin artist Mary Morse, who created the sculpture for a 2010 art show in Wichita Falls.

“I hope people will realize it’s a girl sitting on the beach and looking up at the sky,” Morse said Thursday. “I think it’s just about the simple pleasure of experiencing the magic of it.”

Other pieces added to the tour this year include “Imagination,” by Cindy Debold; “Freshwater Cowgirl,” by Anthony St. James; “Blood Brother,” by Peter Mangan; “Thor’s Hammer” and “Tanzanian Torped,” by Sun McColgin, “Mystic Flight,” by Dan Pogue; “Ladder Man," by Jay Schaan; and “Barn Martian,” by Dave Speer.

The nine pieces will remain on display until October 2018.

For more than a decade, the city has installed sculptures in public spaces such as along Main Street and in the Georgetown Public Library. The idea is to make art more accessible to the public, said Fine Arts Librarian Dana Hendrix. The pieces are switched out every year.

“People become very connected to the pieces, so there can be some sadness when it goes away. But then there’s something new to fall in love with,” Hendrix said.

Georgetown’s Arts and Culture Board picked nine pieces for display out of 40 submissions, a process Hendrix said was difficult.

 

Morse said she is pleased "Kite" is out in public for more people to enjoy. After the piece was shown in Wichita Falls, it has been held in private collections.

Hendrix said art leaves a lasting impact on people’s lives, and allows people to experience their own emotional and intellectual reactions to pieces.

“Public art tries to bring that to everybody in their daily life, so that art isn’t some distant, removed thing that you have to make a point of going to a museum for. It enriches people's lives immeasurably,” Hendrix said.