Public Art

Why used shovels?

Throughout the month of October, artist Chris Fennell will be creating a sculpture from community-donated shovels—but why shovels? The idea for creating a vine-inspired gateway germinated in Fennell’s mind years ago; the delay in seeing his vision realized was the result of not having found the perfect location. It wasn’t until he read about the Davis Civic Arts Commission’s request for proposal for the development of a gateway landmark between the City of Davis and the UC Davis Arboretum that he knew his search was over—he just had to convince the selection committee. His sell, as it turns out, was easy.