WAUPUN — Over a dozen new sculptures were proposed to the City Council last month to be brought to Waupun as part of the “Sculpture Tour” program.
Jeni Maly, the founder of Create Waupun and owner of Imagine That! Art Studio, presented information about the rotating sculpture exhibits and other public art at the Special Council Meeting held February 19, 2025.
Create Waupun is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the arts in Waupun, in particular the display of public outdoor art such as the rotating bronze sculptures. Create Waupun was formerly known as “Waupun City of Sculpture,” but was renamed due to some confusion about the name with the community’s brand.
The mission of Create Waupun is to “Promote the recognition of Waupun as a cultural community through obtaining sculptures and murals to be placed in public spaces for enjoyment and education of citizens and visitors.” The vision statement is “To build a lasting legacy of artistic expression and cultural tourism in Waupun.”
Last year they brought in five rotating sculptures to Waupun through the Sculpture Tour Program, which is a national art sharing organization where cities and businesses can easily rent sculptures for a year—or get in contact with the artists for a permanent purchase.
Waupun’s Sculpture Tour Program has a number of selection criteria, including artistic quality, cultural relevance (connection to Waupun’s heritage and community values), and practicality: durability and suitability for outdoor public spaces. The sculptures also feature themes related to Waupun’s local heritage and culture, community spirit and renewal.
Maly pointed out three of the sculptures currently on display as examples: “We Can Do It” (also known as Rosie the Riveter, located in front of National Rivet on Main St), “American Farmer” (in front of the Farmer’s Elevator), and “World’s Her Canvas” (by Imagine That! Art Studio). All three of these sculptures Maly is trying to purchase permanently for Waupun’s outdoor collection.
The most well known of these, Rosie the Riveter, is the subject of a community campaign to fundraise the purchase. National Rivet committed half the purchase cost, $15,500, towards the campaign and the rest has been made up with donations from the community. As of the meeting, there was about $3,000 still left to go.
“Rosie” has a significant connection to the Waupun community due to the part that National Rivet played in World War 2, manufacturing a significant percentage of the nation’s rivets for planes and other equipment. The Shaler Company worked out of the same facility and had been started by Clarence Addison Shaler, who was the donor or sculptor of Waupun’s “legacy collection” of outdoor bronze sculptures.
Maly has also sent out grand applications to fund the purchase of “American Farmer” due to its connection to the community’s significant agricultural roots. “World’s Her Canvas” is also under a purchase contract and may become a permanent part of the collection due to its promotion of the arts.
As for next year’s sculptures, most will be completely new to Waupun.
“I would like to see more sculptures in Waupun, and I have a goal to have ten sculptures for next year [this coming season],” Maly said. “Another one of my organization’s goals is to have four to five permanent sculptures purchased each year, with a long-term plan of twenty new sculptures to Waupun.”
Maly went on to list the sponsors from last year, along with several of the organizations who she has written grants to—all of which have committed to sponsoring sculptures this year as well. This included Horcion Bank, Waupun Fine Arts, Waupun Historical Society, Create Waupun, and grants from Waupun Community Fund, Beaver Dam Area Foundation, and Fond du Lac Area Foundation.
But now that she has these commitments, she would like to see five more sponsors help bring new sculptures to Waupun.
Maly then presented a list of potential sculptures that could be sponsored for Waupun, some with pictures included in the presentation. Not all of the presented sculptures were realistic cast bronze that would fit the existing collection, with several proposed pieces being “scrap art” or abstract.
She said that while many of these are not final, she hopes to work something out with local businesses to sponsor a number of these in the collection. Pictures can be found at the bottom of this article.
10 Rotating Collection—$3,000 Sponsor Site
● Blooming Chevy, Sponsor Homan Auto (pending)
● Majestic Delight, Sponsor Destination, Waupun Community Fund, BD Area (pending), likely several for the Food Truck Alley
● Double Trouble, Sponsor Green Collar Grooming (pending)
● Rusted Melody, Sponsor Waupun Fine Arts
● Hook Up, Waupun Community Center (pending)
● King Norway, No Sponsor Yet (pending)
● Steel Stallion, Sponsor Wells Fargo (pending)
● Temujin, Sponsor Eagle Flexible Packaging (pending)
● Day’s Catch, Sponsor Holiday Sport (pending), likely at the Mill Pond
● Bemused, Sponsor Waupun Park & Rec (pending)
● Patches, Sponsor Waupun Aquatic (pending)
● Joyride, No Sponsor Yet (pending)
Others potentially in the Rotating Collection without included pictures
● Birdwatcher, Sponsor Horicon Bank
● Blooming Yellow, Sponsor RRI PTO (pending)
● Burr Oak, Sponsor Marsh Haven (pending)
“Permanent” Collection—$5,000 per year for 4 years
● Paper Boy, Contract Waupun Historical Society
● Ripple Effect, WI Protect Waterway Grant Pending
● Saturdays Distraction, Contract Waupun Public Library
● World’s Her Canvas, Contract Create Waupun/Imagine That
● Schools Out, Pending Contract Real Sports/Baseball League
The sponsorship deadline for this year is April 1, 2025.
According to the timeline she provided, Create Waupun will form a Selection Committee to evaluate the selection and placement of the sculptures in March, install the sculptures in May, and hold a “launch” event in June. The new sculptures will be promoted beginning in April, and feedback will be gathered throughout the season.
Maly then made a request that the city provide financial support towards the Sculpture Tour program and other related art projects, citing the return on investment from local tourism, community engagement, and local business and organization partnerships. She went on to describe her five year plan for the program, including a long-term funding strategy.
One of the ideas that Maly had for the City was to put more sculptures in the city parks, namely McCune and Zollner Parks. She also suggested putting sculptures at the Waupun Safety Building, Waupun Utilties, and local healthcare and aged facilities to promote more education on these services. She also thanked Waupun Public Works for setting up the pedestals for the rotating sculptures last year, and for agreeing to do this next year.
Another idea that Maly brought was painting more murals in the community, which through a partnership with Signorama in Fond du Lac could develop interactive “augmented reality” murals that could be used for more educational purposes.
The Council went on to discuss the presentation, which covered a wide variety of questions on the topic.
Alderman Pete Kaczmarski asked if local high school or middle school students have expressed interest in participating in any mural projects or help design or manufacture any other projects. Maly said she is an art teacher at the Waupun Area School District and has worked with students on projects in class, and that she’s looking to pilot a more community-focused art program.
“I think, first hand as a teacher, it’s really important to get kids involved,” Maly said. “Last year we were working with Design Wisconsin where a group of students were working together with business owners in collaboration. It’s important for the younger generations to be heard and get included because they’ll be more involved.”
Kaczmarski then asked about some of the processes she had in mind, and brought up some ideas he’s seen from other communities.
“I will have you know that I have a lot of ideas,” Maly said. “I think Kathy can attest to that. A sculpture walk, a mural walk, a banner walk—we were just talking about that.”
Mayor Bishop added that there is at least one local artist who is interested in doing a few large murals for the community, but that the main limiting factor is finding a suitable spot for murals due to them being done on private property. He said he knew of a few who almost certainly would, however, and some ideas that had been thrown around in the past.
He also talked about how last year the High School held a banner contest where the top student designs would be displayed downtown, which the DPW assisted in putting up.
Kaczmarski brought up the cost issue for many local businesses, especially with how expensive it might be to a business to sponsor a sculpture for four years at $5,000 per year. Designing and printing banners would be much more cost-effective and may help promote what they do.
Mayor Bishop then asked if Maly had a plan for where to put Rosie the Riveter once the fundraiser was completed, which she said was actually one of the things she wanted to bring up for discussion. While Mayor Bishop was concerned that being so close to the road on Main Street may damage the sculpture from the road salt, Maly said she wanted to keep it somewhere prominent in the downtown area.
“I would like her on Main Street from how much attention she draws from people driving past, and then a more permanent placement afterwards,” she said. “So I’m hoping if we purchase a sculpture it’ll be on Main Street in a rotation, and then permanently go somewhere else. I’m really hoping we bring more sculptures downtown—because right when it came up the biggest feedback was ‘where are all the rest of them?’”
As for placement, the sculptures would need to be outdoors in a public space.
Alderman Dan Siebers asked if the City would provide a new base for Rosie if she’s purchased and moved, which Schlieve said yes, but it’s a relatively minor and easy process. She went on to briefly explain the process for all rotating sculptures, and how the City works with the sponsoring businesses for the placements when the sculptures arrive.
In all, the presentation and meeting discussion lasted about thirty-five minutes. The presentation was a discussion-only item on the agenda, but will likely be brought to future meetings for further discussion and decisions.
