<p>A 5-foot-tall buffalo will represent Johnson County on a statewide level, and now a local group is looking for someone to paint it.</p>
<p>The Indiana Association of United Ways and the Indiana Bicentennial Commission is participating in the Bison-tennial Public Art Project to celebrate Indiana’s 200th birthday.</p>
<p>Each of the state’s 92 counties, including Johnson County, is purchasing a fiberglass sculpture of a buffalo, which will be decorated to depict the communities and cultural history of the county. Buffaloes are symbolic of Indiana because they were historically native to the state, and a buffalo is depicted on the state seal.</p>
<p>Now, Johnson County’s buffalo needs to get a theme and be painted.</p>
<p>The United Way of Johnson County is seeking a volunteer artist or group of artists to create paintings for the buffalo sculpture that represent the county. Artists can be amateur or professional, art classes or non-profit arts organizations, but must have a connection to Johnson County or live in the county. Applications must be received by May 27.</p>
<p>"We’re open to any artist — whether they’d be professional, amateur, youth, college student, senior. I think we’re just looking for the best renditions of what represents Johnson County," said Nancy Lohr Plake, executive director of United Way of Johnson County.</p>
<p>Once the bison is decorated, it will be displayed on Johnson County’s portion of the Torch Relay route, patterned after the Olympic Torch Relay where a torch will be handed from person to person throughout the state. The relay will pass through all 92 counties, covering 2,300 miles over a five-week period from Sept. 9 to Oct. 15, beginning in Corydon, the state’s first capital, and ending at the statehouse in Indianapolis.</p>
<p>The buffalo will find a permanent home in Johnson County after the relay.</p>
<p>Each artist will turn in a proposal with their application of what they plan to paint, which must somehow depict Johnson County, and a committee will pick the best one.</p>
<p>"It could be so many things, because you have a large retail industry, a rich history of agriculture in this community, as well as manufacturing. We have a rich history of community — we have several different communities in this county," Plake said.</p>
<p>"It will be fun to see what the artist portrays Johnson County as."</p>
<p>The Greenwood, Franklin and White River Rotary clubs provided $2,500 for the buffalo sculpture and will provide a $500 materials stipend for the artist to purchase paints or other materials.</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="Indiana’s Bison-tennial" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p>The United Way of Johnson County wants professional and amateur artists to submit an application to serve as the Bison-tennial artist for Johnson County. If chosen, artists will decorate a 5-foot-tall fiberglass bison that will be displayed along the bicentennial Torch Relay route.</p>
<p>What: The United Way is asking artists to submit a proposal of how they would decorate the bison. The design and theme of the paintings should depict Johnson County in a creative way.</p>
<p>Who: Applicants must reside in or have a connection to Johnson County.</p>
<p>When: Applications and submissions must be received by noon May 27. Artist selection will be made by a committee of county United Way volunteers no later than June 1. The project should be completed by July 15.</p>
<p>How: For additional information or to obtain an application, call Kerri Powers Hoffman, campaign/communications associate with United Way of Johnson County, at 317-736-7840. Submissions may be mailed at P.O. Box 153, Franklin, IN 46131, or hand-delivered to the United Way of Johnson County office at 460 N. Morton St., Franklin, or can be sent via email at <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
