Day 13 – 365 Things To Do In Bellingham, WA – Sebastion in Bellingham - Outdoor Sculptures

Have you been wondering about the large, brightly colored, geometric, metal sculptures you've seen scattered around downtown Bellingham lately.   They are part of an exhibit called "Sebastian in Bellingham."  The sculptures are on an easy walking tour route in Bellingham's downtown cultural district, along streets near the Mount Baker Theatre, the Whatcom Museum campus and on the grounds of the Bellingham Public Library and Bellingham City Hall. For today's "Thing to Do," I'm recommending you get downtown and take a walk and see this world renowned artist's work

Sebastian (Enrique Carbajal "Sebastián") is one of Mexico's most prominent contemporary sculptors. His material is steel and aluminum, industrial product bathed in very bright colors. His work is seen in installations in over 100 major cities around the world.

The outdoor installation consists of 15 large metal sculptures that have been transported from Mexico City and will be in downtown Bellingham until October 2010.

The exhibition celebrates the Mexican Bicentennial of Independence and the 100th anniversary of its Revolution.

This is a world class exhibit and significant tourism attraction, it is on loan to Bellingham by the artist himself, and is made possible by a private  and public partnership, a large volunteer efforts and a state tourism grant.

The project is sponsored by, Allied Arts of Whatcom County and the City of Bellingham, which is contributing staff to coordinate the exhibit and install the sculptures but is not providing any funding. The project also is supported by a $25,000 grant from the Washington State Tourism Department.

One of Bellingham's prominent citizens, George Drake is the project coordinator and deserves our thanks for his vision and effort in getting these colorful pieces to our city. Accor4ding to Drake "The goal of this project is not just to show the art of Sebastion, but to bing world-wide attention to Bellingham and Whatcom County as a destination for cultural tourists"