Feature Article alive with art By Katelyn Schramm, Guest Writer If You Have to See it to Believe it, Yankton’s Visual Art Scene Demonstrates that Art Adds Life in Unsuspecting Places. For those who travel a lot, to term a community as “artsy” may carry a different connotation than the scene in Yankton truly depicts, so I will not call it “artsy.” I will say, there is a lot more here than many might expect from a mid-sized town in South Dakota. Searching for what those involved in the Arts would say, I asked Julie Amsberry, Executive Director of Yankton Area Arts to describe the art scene in Yankton. I love her response, “This community is alive with it!” Alive and well. Since art has so many meanings and categories, I am choosing to focus on exposing you, the visitors, to the availability of visual art in Yankton. The newest visual art movement comes to us from the Meridian District Art Project, which focuses on adding artistic touches to the Meridian District in Downtown Yankton. When wandering the streets downtown, pay attention to the alleys and the sides of buildings because local artists are making their mark! There are murals and interactive art displays that allow you to look like you have wings or tentacles. Also in the interactive visual art category, there is a Community Mural on the side of the Meridian Bridge made from individually painted tiles that are pieced together to build the full mural. Community members and 28 | Yankton Visitors Guide | www.VisitYanktonSD.com visitors have the opportunity to paint tiles that form a new mural each summer during Music at the Meridian, a Thursday night musical event. While hanging out down by the bridge, you cannot miss the chance to stroll along the Sculpture Walk and take in different styles of sculptures, from classic to modern. The Sculpture Walk is full of work from various artists, but Yankton is fortunate enough to have a local sculptor, Scott Luken. He has a studio downtown, S. Luken Studio, full of his work, and he offers classes at various times throughout the year on everything from sculpting to painting. For those that follow the sculpting world, you may recognize the name Dale Lamphere. He is the man responsible for the Dignity sculpture in Chamberlain, SD and the Arc of Dreams in Sioux Falls, SD. Before those sculptures existed, Yankton Area Arts acquired one of his pieces called “The Wave” It is situated south of the baseball field at Riverside Park. If you prefer to view art inside a gallery instead of out in nature, Yankton has plenty to offer for that as well. First, there is the G.A.R. Hall Art Gallery, home of Yankton Area Arts. Here, they feature displays from professional artists, local talent, and there is even a high school showcase in February/March where high school students are asked to create