Editorial: Belleville, VBT getting more artsy

Our latest announcement of art coming to Belleville is the information on the school of fish that has been planted in Horizon Park for the past two summers. It’s coming back and all local artists are invited to decorate a wooden fish to be added to the others that will spend the summer in the park to be admired by concert goers and others.
This announcement follows last week’s installation of the new round of outdoor sculptures in the city of Belleville and Van Buren Township. There are five in the township and five in the city, all leased from Midwest Sculpture Initiative that provides outdoor sculpture exhibits in “art-underserved” communities for a year at a time.
Of course, you’ve heard that the ten Belleville Bass, also decorated by artists, will be erected in Belleville and VBT – five in each place. These are intended to be permanent, to be replaced once they wear out or begin to look shabby. They are four feet tall, fiberglass art pieces on cement foundations.
The wooden fish at the park and the fiberglass fish in various locations are courtesy of the Belleville Area Council for the Arts. The Bass idea actually came up at the committee meetings to plan the Belleville Lake Fest and was taken over by BACA. The outdoor sculptures are brought to us by the Downtown Development Authorities of the city and VBT. We probably won’t be considered “art-underserved” this summer.