NEW ROCHELLE, NY — On September 20, artists from across the region joined New Rochelle City Officials and the City’s Municipal Arts Commission to celebrate the installation of 15 custom NRNY sculptures designed as part of the City’s public art series “Stacked!”
At a reception at City Hall, attendees had the opportunity to meet the artists and view images of the seven-foot-tall sculptures, which are on display at various street corners throughout downtown New Rochelle.
Spearheaded by New Rochelle’s Municipal Arts Commission and Department of Development, the “Stacked!” project was initiated last October with an open request to artists throughout the region to design 3D fiberglass statues of the City’s “Ideally Yours” logo. In January, members from both groups selected the top submissions.
The completion of the new sculptures, along with two pieces unveiled in July by Charles Fazzino and Heather Fazzino, have helped the City reach a major milestone in its mission to add art to the public realm in downtown New Rochelle, enliven the streetscape and create a welcoming, vibrant downtown.
“Bringing more public art downtown continues to be top of mind for the City,” said Robert Stanziale, chairman of the Municipal Arts Commission. “Our Commission is proud to share ‘Stacked!’ with the community and feel these unique pieces truly embody the spirit of the City. We appreciate the cooperation of the Development Department and the guidance of our Board Member Jesse Sanchez who has once again helped bring a concept to fruition.”
“Creative expression is at the heart of New Rochelle’s identity and a crucial component of our downtown development efforts,” said New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson. “This outstanding public art display, enhanced with the free audio app Otocast, adds energy, vitality, and fun to our community, while emphasizing New Rochelle’s growing reputation as a dynamic cultural hub.”
The public can enjoy the NRNY “Stacked!” sculptures through the free Otocast audio narration app, which offers an interactive digital experience through self-guided audio tours. Since
launching in New Rochelle this summer with the unveiling of the Fazzino pieces, the audio guide allows the end users to hear about each of the sculptures directly from the artists who designed them. Otocast has a global art tourism audience with over 150 guides covering 2,500 points of interest.