Collection Connection

Art Thompson: Nebraska Interstate 80 Bicentennial Sculpture Project Wednesday, May 24 • 2:00 p.m. Art Thompson, President of the Cooper Foundation in Lincoln, Nebraska, was Assistant Director of the University of Nebraska Union in the late 1960s and early 1970s when he was appointed Executive Director of the Nebraska Interstate 80 Bicentennial Sculpture Project. Eight works of public sculpture were commissioned for placement at rest areas along Interstate 80. After the project’s initial controversy, primarily because the selected art works were contemporary abstract sculptures by non-Nebraskans, the local communities eventually accepted them. Thompson relates his experience of working on the project, and discusses the importance of the role of public art in Nebraska.