The Johnson City Sesquicentennial Commission at 10 a.m. Saturday (Sept. 28) will unveil fiberglass train artwork that was created in celebration of the City’s founding 150 years ago. This event will be held in conjunction with the kickoff of the Art Struck Festival at Founders Park, 225 Commerce St.

“This project was born out of the Sesquicentennial Commission’s arts and culture committee and is intended to foster an appreciation of our city’s history as well as the city’s strong art community,” said Sesquicentennial Commissioner Joy Fulkerson. “The artists were each provided a fiberglass train and asked to create a piece of art that depicted the spirit and history of the City of Johnson City and its residents. Seeing their diverse interpretations of that request has been fascinating.”

Cher Cornett with Create Appalachia worked closely with the Sesquicentennial Commission to identify and select local artists to participate in the painting of eight trains. The participating artists and the name of their work are:

Ariel Adams, “Fireflies and City Nights”

Bode Alaka, “Dashiki (The Train of 1000 Tribes)”

Ian Butler/Virginia Salazar Buda, “The Little Engine That Could”

Jason Matthew Flack, “Live City Live”

Marty Henley, “Etched in History”

Angelique Lynch, “Tennessee Is Where I Want To Be”

Catherine Murray , “Pollination”

Katherine Thrower, “The Insides of Our Community”

The unveiling will include comments from Mayor Jenny Brock, Sesquicentennial Commissioner Joy Fulkerson and Cher Cornett. Several of the artists will be available to speak about their pieces of work and the inspiration behind them. The trains will remain on display for the duration of the Art Struck Festival before being moved to the windows of the former JCPenney building, 309 E. Main St., before moving to the Johnson City Public Library. The trains will be permanently installed outdoors at locations around the downtown area in the spring.

For more information about the yearlong sesquicentennial celebration, visit www.jctn150.com or follow @jctn150 (Johnson City 150 — Sesquicentennial Celebration) on Facebook.

CONTACT:    Joy Fulkerson
                             Sesquicentennial Commission
                             423.439-8328
                             fulkersj@etsu.edu

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