FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Springfield, MO. (April 11, 2022) – Lawn Art With Neighbors (LAWN) is popping up near you from April 23 to May 8, 2022, with front lawn art created by your neighbors in and around Springfield, MO. LAWN thrives as a public art opportunity open to all community members and art forms. LAWN exhibitions include sculptures, paintings, installations, video projections, podcasts, social practice projects, and more. In 2022, LAWN brings a whole new array of front yard projects and some recurring sites located in Springfield and in other communities of Greene County like Republic, Ash Grove, Willard, Battlefield and Fair Grove.
April Stublefield, a stay-at-home mom of two who enjoys adding creative projects to her family routine, participated in LAWN during 2021. “My son was 18 months old and just beginning to explore outside when LAWN 2020 was advertised. In response to his enthusiasm and the strangeness of social isolation, I found myself wanting to celebrate our local natural landscape for bringing us so much joy,” said Stublefield.
Jordan Seyer is a Springfield-based painter whose work plays into abstract expressionism on a large scale. “I enjoyed the experience and the energy that went into making my LAWN display. It drove me to make my work as fun as I possibly could to match any energy other artists were putting out,” said Seyer.
LAWN is sponsored by Sculpture Walk Springfield, the Springfield Art Museum, Missouri State University: Art + Design Department, and University of Missouri Extension (Greene County).
“MU Extension got involved because we saw the value of art for the community, by the community, as a way to strengthen social bonds through art,” said David Burton, county engagement specialist with the University of Missouri Extension. “LAWN also fits perfectly with our engaged neighbor program.”
Take a stroll, bike ride, or cruise and enjoy artwork brought to you by your neighbors April 23 - May 8. The LAWN site map and viewing suggestions to locate the artworks nearest you are online at https://sculpturewalkspringfield.org/sculptures/lawn-art-with-neighbors.
LAWN HISTORY
LAWN was established in April 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal was to create an effort to encourage art-making and viewing as a form of bolstering mental health and community building during stay-at-home orders. In 2020, LAWN included 65 lawn art projects created by over 100 community members. During 2021, LAWN had nearly 75 participating lawn art projects in Springfield. Learn more at https://sculpturewalkspringfield.org/sculptures/lawn-art-with-neighbors/ or @LAWNSGF on Facebook and @l.a.w.n.sgf on Instagram.
Contact: Deidre Argyle and/or Shauna Smith at lawnsgf@gmail.com.
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The Springfield Art Museum is Springfield, Missouri’s oldest cultural institution, founded in 1928. A department of the City of Springfield, the Museum invites you to connect with the world, your community, and yourself through active engagement with art objects. For more information, please visit www.sgfmuseum.org or contact Joshua Best, Museum Affairs Officer at (417) 874-2859 or jbest@springfieldmo.gov.
L.A.W.N., Lawn Art With Neighbors Art for the community, by the community: connecting and strengthening social bonds through art. For more information, please visit https://sculpturewalkspringfield.org/sculptures/lawn-art-with-neighbors/, or contact Deidre Argyle and/or Shauna Smith at lawnsgf@gmail.com.
