The first edition of SculptureWalk Chelsea has concluded, and the effort has swapped out its initial round of 10 large public sculptures to make room for 10 new ones. The new temporary landmarks will be on display at locations throughout downtown Chelsea for a year.

The new sculptures are already in place at outdoor spots spanning from the Chelsea Center for the Arts, the southernmost point, to Jiffy Mix and the Clock Tower Complex, north of the railroad tracks. Sculptures are located near key anchors like the Chelsea District Library and the Purple Rose Theater, and sprinkled throughout downtown’s main drags.

SculptureWalk Chelsea maps will be available at businesses around Chelsea and Ann Arbor or you can download a 2010 map on the River Gallery website, coming soon.

Seven sculptors are featured in the yearlong public art exhibition, including Chelsea artist Rick De Troyer, who is credited with bringing the idea of having a citywide art walk to town. He is joined by fellow Chelsea artist John Schwarz, Joshua Ray Smith (Ann Arbor), David Petrakovitz (Cadillac), Albert Young (Detroit), Ray Katz (Pontiac), and Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based artist Tom Newport.

Chelsea’s River Gallery manages the public sculpture exhibition with funding from the Downtown Development Authority and support from Sounds & Sights on Thursday Nights, The Chelsea Center for the Arts and the City of Chelsea.

River Gallery co-director Patti Schwarz remembers; “For a couple of years, Rick De Troyer was going around to different organizations and galleries trying to get somebody to manage a public art walk. He had exhibited in the art walk that Saugatuck did for about 20 years. It was really his idea to do this in Chelsea. The River Gallery decided to do it. He helped us tremendously with basic information about how to manage it, and we modeled it after what they used to do in Saugatuck.”

Sculptures were selected through a juried submission process. This year’s guest jurors were Detroit-based Italian sculptor Sergio De Giusti and Chelsea-based art collector Todd Koch, who owns a real estate business in town. Schwarz explains that De Giusti “is a well-known sculptor in the Detroit area. We wanted him because when he’s a juror, then you know it’s going to be a high-quality show.” Many artists are familiar with other exhibitions he has juried and “if they know he is a juror, then they are more likely to submit,” she adds. As a Chelsea resident and seasoned art lover, “Koch was a great choice because he represented the local side of it,” she says.

Schwarz thinks SculptureWalk is “a huge draw for visitors and tourists. We get people from all over Michigan, places like Toledo, and people from Chelsea who come to see the art. In that respect, it’s an economic draw because they spend money at the restaurants and shops. It’s up to those businesses to get people inside their buildings, but the sculptures increase foot traffic in front of these places,” she explains.

Chelsea city manager John Hanifan is working on writing a grant proposal for SculptureWalk that argues the public health benefits of having an art walk. They hope to successfully apply for a grant from the Chelsea Community Hospital, according to Schwarz. “Walking around and looking at sculptures supports walkability and a healthy lifestyle,” she explains.

Chelsea’s public art exhibition is still pretty new as it begins its second yearly rotation. Schwarz sees a lot of room to grow, by adding more locations and installing some of the sculptures permanently. This year she hopes to see some of the sculptures sell — buyers can pick them up after the yearly cycle ends or consider donating them as permanent public artworks. Future sales, contributions and grant money would allow SculptureWalk to expand to new locations and include more artists.

Right now, the Chelsea Center for the Arts is the only location that technically lies outside of the DDA’s footprint. However, Schwarz would like to see sculptures on more of downtown’s side streets in coming years. Personally, she thinks, “the area by the fire station” could be a good additional location, and she would like to see “more down Middle Street, on side streets and a little off the beaten track.”

According to Schwarz, there are plenty of “opportunities to get the community more engaged.” There is going to be a harder push this year to “get more energy happening around the art. We haven’t figured it all out yet, but we have a bunch of ideas right now,” she says.

Sounds & Sights on Thursday Nights helps to market the sculpture sites as “sights” to visit when people are downtown enjoying the weekly event series — which includes music performances, a car show and activities for kids. A Sounds & Sights Festival will be held the last weekend of July. “We want to do an open-air market that weekend and possibly connect businesses with artists who can do demonstrations. Perhaps we can display additional sculptures in people’s yards. That way there is a cultural aspect to that weekend,” Schwarz hypothesizes.

It might also be fun to host a SculptureWalk-themed treasure hunt, let the public vote for their favorite sculpture, or plan an art contest for school children, according to Schwarz. Time, a bit more brainstorming, and potential future funding will determine how the exhibition will grow in the future.

A reception for the public and exhibiting sculptures will be held at the River Gallery, 120 South Main Street, on Thursday June 17, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Exhibition sponsors are invited to come early at 5:30 p.m. for a private reception. The Thursday night reception will also help kick off the first weekly installment of Sights & Sounds on Thursday Nights.

Jennifer Eberbach is a free-lance writer who covers art for AnnArbor.com.